One or a Thousand
by darthmaul90
Summary: Despite the Earthrealm victory in the last two Mortal Kombat tournaments and Edenia's subsequent liberation from Shao Kahn's clutches, the diabolical Outworld Emperor stands ready to launch an invasion against both realms anyway. What does an out-of-work railroad engineer have to offer to the Forces of Light and what is his connection to the mysterious blood warrior, Skarlet?
1. One or a Thousand: Chapter 1

**One or a Thousand, Chapter 1**

 _ **The Earth is but one of many realms in the universe yet few who live there know this to be true. Fewer still know that every so often, the fate of Earth is entrusted to but a few warriors who must do battle with those would seek to conquer the Earth and enslave its people. One such realm is Outworld, ruled by the brutal Emperor Shao Kahn and his chief lieutenants, the dark sorcerer Shang Tsung and the demon sorcerer Quan Chi.**_

 _ **Another realm is known as Edenia. Formerly part of Outworld, Edenia rebelled and broke away when the former Outworld princess, Kitana, learned the truth of her Edenian heritage and family. Instigating a successful revolt against her former master, Princess Kitana, her life-long friend Jade, Skarlet the blood warrior and a handful of other Edenian and Earth warriors defeated Shao Kahn and secured Edenian freedom. Now ruled by the duo of Princess Kitana and her mother, Queen Sindel, Edenia faces many challenges in this new dawn of freedom and hope.**_

 _ **Because Shao Kahn is not one to willingly give up realms once conquered.**_

 _ **What is in Edenia's future? What is in Earth's future? What new alliances will be made? What old ones will be broken? Who will remain loyal to their cause? Who will betray theirs for another? And what does a newly unemployed American railroad engineer have to do with any of it?**_

 _Earthrealm, United States of America_

 _Chicago, Illinois – Present Day_

With his eyes scanning the room at the dozens of gathered spectators, newsmen and grieving family members, Brett Hudson looked in anguish at all of them, particularly the family members. Seated at the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers table, he was present for what was to be the ninth and final day of NTSB hearings regarding what was being called in the news "The Silver Streak Rail Crossing Disaster." A disaster that he'd had front row, center seat to.

Even now, as the NTSB Investigator in Charge read through the highlights of their final report, Brett merely sat quietly with his face in his hands. He didn't want to hear any of it. He'd already lived through it and every time he was forced to listen to the details of the accident, it tore him apart inside. So much needless destruction. So many lives needlessly ended in the blink of an eye. Why him? Why had everything turned upside down so quickly?

It had front page news even since it happened and even now it was talked about on some tabloid news network almost nightly. Ten months ago, Brett was enjoying life as an engineer for AMRoad, the United States government sponsored intercity passenger train carrier. He had a wife, a nice house, a decent amount of savings and was one of the drivers of the Silver Streak, AMRoad's flagship train between Chicago and Los Angeles. It was a prestigious job on AMRoad as the Silver Streak had appeared in a movie of the same name back when AMRoad was just getting started.

The morning of August 10th had started out like any other workday. He'd taken the local Metra train from his home down to Union Station and boarded FP7A #4070 for the midday departure of the westbound Silver Streak to Kansas City. From there he would hand it off the Kansas City crew who would take it further west and he would spend the night there, returning the next day on the eastbound Silver Streak.

Despite most of AMRoad's current locomotive fleet being of the newer P42DC design, the railroad had preserved and permanently assigned FP7s 4070 and 4067 to the Silver Streak as they were the two engines that pulled the movie train. Because of their age and design, they always worked together along with preserved F7B number 4450 that had not been part of the movie train. Everything had been fine for the first few hours of the trip. The weather was clear, they were running only a few minutes behind schedule and the locomotives were performing well. All throughout the trip across Illinois, there had been no problems.

Then they got into eastern Missouri and everything changed literally in a few seconds. Something that was not well known to the public was that outside of the Northeast Corridor, AMRoad trains generally had a maximum speed limit of 85 miles an hour. The Silver Streak was an exception to this as it was cleared to go 105 miles an hour in some places. In order to make up the time that up to that point had been lost, Brett called dispatch and upon approval, quickly got the Silver Streak up to that 105 mile an hour limit once they were east of Fort Madison, Iowa. But not long after crossing the Des Moines River into Missouri, disaster struck.

He was traveling in a stretch of double track mainline as he approached a railroad crossing at a semi-busy highway. Even at the speed he was traveling, he could see the warning lights were active and the gates were down, blocking the road. He followed proper procedure and started sounding his warning horn long before he got to the crossing. And as he got closer, he saw several cars on both side of the track stopped and waiting for him to pass.

That's when it happened. A school bus full of kids charged the crossing from the left side at a high rate of speed. Brett saw it as it swerved into the oncoming lane and raced past all the vehicles stopped beside it. From years of experience, he knew the bus was racing him and he also knew the bus was going to lose. He slammed the brakes into emergency stop and leaned on his warning horn, even shouting at the driver to stop even though there was no way the bus driver could hear him.

But it was no use. The bus hurtled into the railroad crossing at the same instant the Silver Streak started across it. A second later, the train slammed into the bus at 101 miles an hour. The majority of the bus exploded outward, sending metallic debris, glass shards, seats and victims in all directions. A portion of it wrapped around the nose of the engine and the entire front section of the bus was torn completely off. The ripped off piece of the bus struck the first two vehicles waiting on the other side of the crossing for the train to pass, killing the five occupants inside.

The dead and injured were scattered around the tracks, some thrown more than 100 feet by the impact. Forty-six people died at the scene including forty-one in the bus and the five in the other cars that had been hit by the flying debris. Among those dead at the scene was the bus's driver and another eight died en route, or while in, the hospital. More than a dozen ambulances carried victims from the scene. Most of the casualties had been inflicted by the direct impact of the train, although a few others had been caused by the forceful ejection of bodies from the bus or by being dragged by it. A few victims had even been cut in half by the wheels of the train when their flying bodies had landed on the tracks ahead of the still speeding train.

When the debris had settled and a tally had been taken, it was discovered that 54 people were dead, surpassing the tally of the 1963 Salinas Level Crossing Disaster which, up to that point, had been the worst railroad crossing disaster in US history. Of the fifty-four victims, fifty-one had been seventeen years old or younger.

As he looked up from his hands again at the crowd in the hotel ballroom where the NTSB had convened this final hearing to announce their findings, Brett remembered sitting on the side of the tracks next to the stopped train as the paramedics looked him over. He'd been in a daze at the time. All around him were nothing but mangled bodies or parts of them. And he'd lowered his head and wept for the victims as the paramedics continued his work. He'd been in fatal accidents like this before, but never on this grand a scale. No other railroad engineer in America ever had.

But unimaginably, his nightmare was far from over.

Per standard operating procedure, Brett and his conductor had been given a drug and alcohol test at the scene immediately after the accident and another one an hour or so later in the hospital. As Brett expected, the tests proved that he had no drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of the accident but his conductor was different story. The drug test had found high levels of marijuana in his system, more than enough to make him impaired.

The national TV news tabloid programs had jumped all over that, especially that so-called "victim's advocate", Natalie Graves who was in reality, little more than a lynch mob leader. For nearly three weeks, she'd rambled on and on and on about the toxicology report and how it was flawed and how he must've paid somebody to file a false report and that he too had been impaired at the time of the accident. It was all bunch of baseless bullshit, but that damned woman had managed to convince most of the general population with her hearsay and outright lies that the test was indeed flawed and that he had to have been intoxicated at the time of the accident.

Brett lightly snorted in anger when he thought of that lying, self-proclaimed do-gooder… who was present in the audience now taking notes as the NTSB IIC went about his task. She was also watching Brett like a hawk. No doubt she'd have something to say about what she "witnessed" in his demeanor and behavior tonight on her show.

But even though Natalie Graves had been a thorn in his side practically since the day of the accident, it was nothing compared to the ultimate betrayal. Just four months after the disaster his own wife, Annette, stunned him by filing for divorce. Looking back now, he should've seen it coming, but he'd been so focused on trying to defend himself against the court of public opinion that Natalie Graves was leading against him, he just didn't see how Annette was being rapidly corrupted by the "celebrity disease" as he sometimes called it. With all the cameras and flashbulbs following their every move since the accident, he failed to see that she actually enjoyed the attention and being in the spotlight. Never mind that dozens died for her to get there. She was most at home in front of the cameras. And when he least expected it, when he needed her love and support the most, she turned her back on him and left. Shortly thereafter a sensational story about how he'd been a physically and verbally abusive for their entire thirteen year marriage hit the headlines.

Again, it was bogus. He'd never mentally abused her and had never, ever raised a hand against her. But dear old Natalie Graves and her lynch mob of public opinion dove right into it and plastered the story of how she had survived the years of abuse and degradation at his hands. And with that, she'd been almost instantly elevated to celebrity status, a status she did not deserve and Brett secretly hoped would back fire on her one day.

Didn't seem to be the case at the moment though. Right now, she was sitting with her entourage in a different part of the gallery listening to the proceedings. She was living the high life in California right now and he'd heard rumors she would get her own reality TV show soon. Brett rolled his eyes at the thought. Annette hid her eyes behind a pair of large lensed sunglasses and maintained an expression of general disdain for the entire event. Like they were interrupting her busy life by forcing her to be here.

Brett barely heard the NTSB speaker as he concluded his recitation of the NTSB's report. As Brett expected, he personally was found to have no fault whatsoever in the cause of the accident. He'd done his job, operated the train within the published rules, gotten permission from the dispatcher to accelerate his train to 105 like he was supposed to, given more than adequate warning with the train's horn that he was approaching and even attempted the impossible by throwing the Silver Streak's brakes into emergency stop when it became evident a collision was imminent. And most importantly, thoroughly discrediting Natalie Grave's claim to the contrary, he was found to be completely clean and sober at the time of the accident.

AMRoad was also found to be mostly blameless in the accident. The NTSB did state in its final report however, that the 105 mile an hour speed limit was a possible contributing factor and recommended that it be thoroughly reviewed and reconsidered.

Chief blame for the accident however, was placed at the feet of the dead bus driver and the school system he worked for. The bus driver had "blatantly ignored the operating visual and audible warning devices clearly indicating a train was approaching and driven onto the track into the path of the westbound Silver Streak despite these warnings." During the course of the investigation, the NTSB had also learned that the bus driver had been driving for nearly six weeks on a suspended driver's license because of a DWI infraction, but had not reported that to his superiors. Furthermore, it was discovered that the school system had no way to check if any of their drivers were operating the buses illegally and the investigation had turned up three more drivers working on revoked licenses.

But even despite all that, Brett still felt partly responsible for the deaths of all those people. If he hadn't been so eager to make up the lost time, if he hadn't called dispatch, if he hadn't accelerated the Silver Streak to 105 miles an hour… the bus and all the other cars involved would've passed in front of the Silver Streak long before he'd even gotten close to the crossing. He probably wouldn't have ever even seen them. Should he have accelerated to 105 or not? That was question he would ask himself until his dying breath.

"This concludes the findings of NTSB regarding Hawthorne Road Rail Crash," the Investigator in charge announced. "And so it shall be entered into the NTSB's official report into said accident. That's all. This hearing stands in recess."

Brett glanced at Natalie Graves as she left the hearing and eyed him with utter contempt. No doubt, despite the NYSB's official report, she was already forming her next slam attack that she would hit him with the minute he stepped outside. His ex-wife, Annette, followed shortly thereafter looking thoroughly bored by the whole experience and yet responding to the cameras with a million dollar smile the instant they were in her face.

He remained seated at his table for several minutes after everyone else had filed out of the room trying to figure out how in the hell he was going to get out of here. This whole experience had taken a tremendous toll on him ever since it began. He had no desire whatsoever to go out the front door and face that silly twit Natalie Graves, nor the dozens of other news reporters that were no doubt, rapidly gathering out in the hotel lobby and outside the front door. He'd had enough of this. He just wanted to get away and deal with this alone for a while.

A large, heavy-set man appeared next to him and Brett looked up to see a smiling face about a dozen or so years older looking back at him. It was Jeff Borders, the CEO of AMRoad. Ever since this whole thing began, Jeff had been one of the few people firmly in Brett's corner. As a former railway conductor himself, he knew all too well what engineers and other train crew personnel faced "out in the trenches" on a daily basis.

"Jeff," Brett said with a smile. "I didn't think you'd still be here."

"Well, I did technically leave," he replied. "But when I didn't see you, I got concerned and came back to see if you'd left or not."

Brett turned and stared straight ahead at the now empty dais where the NTSB investigators had been gathered only moments earlier. He jerked a thumb back towards the door that led to waiting reporters. "I don't want to deal with them," he said. "Especially that crazy nitwit Natalie Graves and that low-life ex of mine."

Jeff laughed. "I figured. C'mon, I got a car out back for you. We can get to it through the service halls and elevators."

"Thanks," Brett said getting up from the table.

For a few moments, neither man spoke as Jeff led Brett through the maze of dimly lit corridors that were almost never seen by the hotel's patrons. During that time they each in their own way, reflected on the all the events that started with that terrible August day and brought them here and now, to this place. Finally, when they were on ground floor, Jeff broke the silence. "Forgive me Brett as this is probably an inappropriate question at the moment, but I need to ask… when do think you'll be ready to return to work?"

Inappropriate was right and it took everything in his being to keep from going off on Jeff. Brett had to remind himself though that Jeff was doing his job as Brett had been when the accident occurred… even if the question was inappropriate at the moment. "Sir, this whole thing has been a physical and emotional drain on me. With all the press trying to convict me of a crime that never took place and my wife suddenly turning her back on me… I just need some time to go away from all this and depressurize. I haven't been able to truly get my head together since the day of the accident and I need to do that." He paused for a second. "If only for my own sanity."

Jeff stopped walking and turned to face Brett, thrusting his hands into his pockets as he did. He nodded in agreement. "I understand Brett," he said nodding. "I didn't expect you to come back right now and perhaps not for a good while. And I can certainly agree with you that after this, some time alone to recover could be to your benefit. As of right now, you're on leave of absence until January third of next year. If you haven't notified me otherwise, I'll expect you back at the throttle of the Silver Streak on that date. And of course you will receive full pay compensation and full benefits during your leave."

Brett nodded. "Thank you."

Jeff smiled in a fatherly way. "It's the least I can do. Don't forget, I was conductor once myself. And I know all too well what happens to railroaders involved in any kind of accident like this. We're the forgotten victims. We may survive such an accident, but whether we do or not, the public doesn't pay attention to us. They forget that we have to carry the emotional scars of accidents like this for our entire lives, whether we're to blame for them or not."

Brett agreed with everything Jeff said, but at that moment, all he could manage in response was a tired, "Yeah."

Again, Jeff smiled and led the way out the back door to a waiting limousine. No reporters were in sight and Brett was thankful for that. As the car pulled away, Jeff asked. "So where can I take you?"

"The Crown Plaza Hotel," Brett said. "I'm staying there until tomorrow."

Jeff tapped on the glass and alerted the limo driver of where to go and to be sure he pulled up to the service elevator in back when he did. "What about tomorrow? Where are you headed?"

"I'm catching the Empire Builder to Montana," Brett said, referring to AMRoad's train that ran from Chicago to Seattle. He saw Jeff giving him a quizzical expression and then he recalled, Jeff didn't know. "When I said my ex-wife, I meant it. My divorce was finalized a month ago. She got the house and most of the savings. I was lucky to get out of there with some of my personal items including a few weapons, a couple of instruments, some jewelry and a few other things."

"Oh brother," Jeff said.

"Yeah I guess the judge in our divorce case bought into the hype that I was raging alcoholic who loved to do nothing more than beat his wife senseless when he wasn't driving trains," Brett snorted angrily. "I've never done any of that. Ever. But that damned witch hunter, Natalie Graves, and my ex have practically the whole country convinced that I do."

Jeff shook his head in disbelief. "Unbelievable. Why Montana if you don't mind me asking?"

"My uncle owns some property northeast of Libby," Brett said. "It's about twenty miles outside the town and about as many miles south of the Canadian border. He's already handed me the keys to it and what few possessions I still have were shipped up there two weeks ago. I figured it's as good a place as any to recover from this whole ordeal."

Jeff nodded in agreement.

Little more was said the entire trip until the car pulled up to the service area behind the hotel Brett had indicated. As he stepped out, Jeff addressed him once more. "Listen Brett, I'll have a car waiting for you right here at noon tomorrow. It'll take directly to Union Station. There, you'll stay in the Corporate Suite of the Metropolitan Lounge and I'll leave instructions with the staff to board you in secret before they board anyone else." He scribbled a note on a piece of paper. "That's my private cell number. If you need anything, just call me."

Brett took the number and glanced at it, then extended his hand towards the CEO. "Thank you sir."

"Jeff, please," he replied. "And I mean it. If you need anything, call."

Brett nodded. "I will."

 _Realm of Edenia – Edenian Royal Palace – War Room_

 _Concurrent with events of Earth_

Located thousands upon thousands of light years away from Earth and so far removed from Brett's issues it was ridiculous, the realm of Edenia could almost be considered Earth's twin. Like the Earth, there were regular seasons on Edenia and precipitation fell regularly keeps crops fertile and wild plants growing. They had similar land features such as dry arid deserts, quiet unassuming forests, hot wet jungles, flat farmlands, long mountain ranges and polar ice regions. There was an abundance of water on the planet and large oceans which hosted some of the most pristine beaches ever created. Plant life was similar as a wide variety of grasses, trees and flowers grew in abundance and the animal kingdom was just as diverse… and sometimes as dangerous… as it was on Earth.

A number of cities, towns and villages dotted the landscape and were largely constructed in the classical style that an average Earthrealmer would find in the cities of Europe or the Far East. The largest of these cities was the city of Argustus, named in honor of the Edenian protector God, Argus. Situated in the lower altitudes of one of Edenia's green mountain ranges, it was home to thousands of people. And with the wide expanse of the Edenian River passing by it and several roads leading to it, it was the Edenian center of trade and commerce. Thousands more people flocked in and out of the city almost daily.

Further north where the gentle rolling green mountains began to give way to sharper and rockier peaks, was the Edenian Royal Palace. A massive structure five stories tall and built in the same domed classical style as most Edenian buildings, the Royal Palace was situated atop a large outcrop with a large waterfall behind it and several smaller ones in front. Whoever had designed it had designed the Edenian River to come down off the large waterfall and then split into numerous fingers, four of which ran directly under the palace before going over the lower waterfall into the canyon below.

The palace itself was surrounded by a high wall with guard towers spaced at every place the wall turned a corner and two additional towers at the front gate. The grounds themselves were a mix of waterways, courtyards and footbridges all leading towards the five story main palace building. Leading out from the main gate was a long, stone bridge that spanned canyon the lower waterfalls emptied into. Beyond that was the South Palace Grounds… a series of walkways, buildings and other courtyards surrounded by its own fortified wall and guard towers. Here too, a large finger of the Edenian River curved through the area before cascading down a waterfall tot eh west and joining the rest of the river as it wound its way to Argustus.

It was here, inside the War Room of the main palace, that the rightful ruler of Edenia, Queen Sindel, was having a conference with several of her top advisors and a few fighters from Earthrealm she'd come to know over the past couple of years. Standing over a large topographical map of Shao Kahn's fortress on Outworld, Queen Sindel and the others studied it while trying to make sense of the latest intelligence they'd gathered.

"I agree with your assessment Queen Sindel," a tall, muscular man with white eyes and a conical shaped straw hat announced. "I think Shao Kahn is planning another invasion of Edenia."

"But even so, that's against the rules set forth by the Gods," Queen Sindel protested. "Edenia won its independence from him. We are entitled to keep it."

A dark skinned, muscular Earth man named Jackson Briggs, spoke up. "Beggin' your pardon Your Majesty, but since when does Shao Kahn really care about the rules? He's like every other piss-ant in his position… follow the rules that suit him, break those that don't and cry foul when we try to use his own tricks against him."

"He's got a point," a young Oriental man wearing red and black training pants and sporting a dark red headband said. "Shao Kahn's bent the rules more than once to try and invade Earthrealm. What's to prevent him from doing the same thing to try and retake Edenia?"

"That's the point Liu Kang," another young man said. Despite the fact that most of his face was covered with a black and blue hood, one could still just make out a European feature about his eyes and a matching east European accent in his voice. The rest of his body was clad in a ninja outfit in the same black and blue colors as his hood. "Nothing has ever stood in Shao Kahn's way of trying to achieve his goals. Not even supposed rules."

"And he stomps on the heads of anyone whom he perceives as getting in his way, Sub Zero," a tall, leggy woman with her long blonde hair tied in a pony-tail said. She glanced over at Liu Kang. "Or at least he tries to."

"Don't worry babe," a brown haired man wearing expensive sunglasses smiled. "I'll make sure he doesn't bash your pretty head in."

The blonde woman rolled her eyes. "Oh will you shut up already?"

Another man with copper colored hair and wearing a modified NYPD SWAT Team uniform started laughing. "Ohhh… shot down again eh Professor Charming?" He turned to the woman. "On behalf of the entire male species, Sonya Blade, may I apologize for Johnny Cage and his ten clumsy come ons?"

Sonya merely shot the SWAT man a pained grin.

The man known as Sub Zero shook his head. "Why don't you just give it up Cage?"

Johnny Cage, the man with the expensive sunglasses, glared at the red aired guy in a SWAT uniform. "Eat it Zero!" he yelled. "And you too Stryker! I have not yet begun to fight!" in a tone reminiscent of a big Broadway theatrical production.

Now it was Stryker's turn to roll his eyes.

"Can we get back to the point please?" a female voice sternly called out. It came from a young looking woman with fair skin and jet black hair that extended all the way to her rear end. She wore a short, cerulean-colored, halter-style cropped top, which stopped and split above her navel. Trimmed with silver, it had an opening in the middle, laced together with crossed strings which left the generous inner curving swell of her breasts invitingly exposed. A matching thong of a similar design and a long flowing loincloth at the front covered her most intimate area and there were subtle embroidered designs on the cerulean veil that covered her nose and mouth, her bustier, thigh high boots and arm gauntlets. The silver teardrop earrings and matching coronet identified her as Princess Kitana of Edenia and Queen Sindel's daughter.

"I agree," an older oriental man spoke. "This is no time for childish antics or pathetic displays of unrequited affection and desire."

Johnny Cage gave the old man an insulting sneer which the old man let go. It wasn't worth expending the energy he'd have to in order to give Johnny Cage the beating he so richly deserved.

In any case, Princess Kitana didn't give the situation a chance to escalate. "It's obvious from the reports we've received that Shao Kahn is conducting a massive build-up of Outworld forces. He's not doing that just for the sake of doing it."

Another woman spoke up, and said, "Let's not forget that he's also got the support of both the Black Dragon and Red Dragon organizations from Earthrealm as well."

"True, but how can be sure of his intentions to invade Edenia again," yet another young woman clad in a simple yellow and black jumpsuit pointed out.

The woman who had previously spoken had tanned skin and long, jet black hair. It was longer than Princess Kitana's, yet it too was tied in a long pony tail. Like Kitana, she wore a veil type mask to cover her nose and mouth, only this one was colored emerald green with black and gold trim. Her outfit was a one-piece type colored the same green but with black and gold trim. Similar to Kitana's outfit, it was split open in the middle and laced with cross strings revealed much of the inner curving swell of her breasts and her taut stomach. A long piece of emerald colored cloth wrapped around her hips and was run through a large gold ring where it dropped and formed a long, front-only loincloth. A total of four gold chains, two on either side, were clipped to the outfit and hung free at her hips. Matching green, black and gold knee high boots and forearm gauntlets completed the seductive outfit. "Oh Tanya," she said. "What do you think his intentions are? Invade Earthrealm?"

"Why not Jade?" Tanya wondered. "He's made no secret of the fact that wants Earthrealm under his control as well."

"I agree that he may try to invade Earthrealm once again at some time," the woman in green known as Jade commented. "But Shao Kahn will go after Edenia again before he tries to take on Earth once more. That way he can force more people into slavery for an invasion of Earth."

"It makes sense," Kitana continued the argument. "Edenia is more advanced magically than Earthrealm is but at the same time, Earthrealm is more advanced technologically than we are. Not to mention Earthrealm's population is more than four times larger than Edenia and Outworld put together. Shao Kahn has to know that. He has to know that he must gather more forces if any invasion of Earth is to succeed. Magic will only get him so far."

The older oriental man spoke further. "And like Stryker there has said before, "wars are only truly won with boots on the ground." The easiest way Shao Kahn can have more boots on the ground so to speak would be to bring Edenia back under his control first, then invade Earthrealm."

"All of these are very valid points," Queen Sindel summed up. "Which just reinforces my belief that Shao Kahn is preparing yet another invasion of Edenia. What do we have in the way of forces that stand ready to combat any threat he may launch?"

As Edenia's Military Chief of Staff and the highest ranking general in their armed forces, Jade, the woman dressed in emerald green, supplied the answer. "All six divisions are active as you well know Your Majesty…. Southland, Mountain, Valley, West Desert, North Tropical and of course Home Guard. But as you also know, those divisions are horribly undermanned. At best… forty-one to forty-three hundred troops stand ready to battle."

Queen Sindel knew the situation all too well, but even so the numbers did not please her. She rubbed her forehead in worry. "So forty-two hundred average plus our admittedly few Earthrealm allies. Can that many stand against and repel whatever hordes Shao Kahn sends against us?"

They all knew the answer to that question, but only Liu Kang said anything. "Probably not Your Majesty," he said quietly. "The best we could hope for against those odds is to inflict so many casualties against their numbers that Shao Kahn would have to think twice above leaving forces here after we're overrun. While I think we're all in agreement that he wants Edenia and Earthrealm, he must still protect what he's already got."

"What makes you think he will," Sub Zero asked.

"Kahn may be a brute, but he's not a fool," Liu Kang insisted. "He must protect what he's already conquered from threat as well. Granted, most of those threats are internal, but they exist all the same."

"So we make a last stand do we?" Sindel summarized. "Fight it out against the Outworlders, Saurians, Tarkatans, Shokan and Centaurians? Hit them with all we've got and hope we inflict enough casualties to send Kahn running anyway long enough for the next generation to avenge our sacrifice?"

Most everyone at the table nodded. Jade summed it up. "That's about the size of it Your Majesty."

Truth be told, Sindel was a little more optimistic about their chances than she let on. They did still have an agent on the inside of Shao Kahn's Outworld horde. Even with that individual though, they still faced tremendously long odds. Sindel turned to face the man with the glowing white eyes and conical straw hat. "Lord Raiden, what sort of assistance can you offer?"

The God of Thunder and Lightning and protector of Earthrealm considered. "I… really don't know Your Majesty. Of course Earthrealm will send what it can and as always we stand ready to help defend our Edenian ally. But you know as well as I do, that I can't just start sending whole armies to Edenia."

"Why not?" Kitana wanted to know the reason.

"Earthrealm may be more technologically advanced than Edenia in many ways, but in many ways, it is more primitive than Edenia as well," Raiden said folding his arms in front of his chest. "If I were to suddenly transport thousands of people here, it would be noticed on a global scale by Earthrealm's various leaders. Therefore, it would be reacted to on a similar scale. Doomsayers would be predicting the end of the world while the devoutly righteous would be proclaiming the second coming of Christ and the beginning of the Rapture. And you don't want to know what the crazies and the nutcases on Earthrealm would be saying or doing. All of it is ridiculous but given the nature of Earthrealm's religions, understandable. Bottom line, it would cause worldwide panic on Earthrealm and thousands upon thousands upon thousands of casualties.

"Surely there must be something you can do though?" Jade asked.

Raiden already had an idea, but he needed to talk to the older oriental man in private first. "I don't know exactly what I can do yet, but I promise I will explore all avenues available to me.

Queen Sindel nodded. "That is all any of us can ask of you Lord Raiden," she said. "I would ask you however, to not delay in your decision or acting upon it Raiden. If what we fear is true Shao Kahn and his horde could strike at any time."

"I… may already have something in mind," he confessed. "If what I have in mind pans out the way I foresee, I will act soon Your Highness. On that, you have my word." He took a deep breath and gave the map another look. "In the meantime Your Majesty, you might consider looking to the local civilians for additional forces. You may have to conscript them."

Kitana wasn't so sure about the idea. "I'm not sure I like the idea of just randomly drafting our people into military service," she said.

"Then don't draft them unless it's absolutely necessary," Raiden suggested. "Go to your people and ask for volunteers. Give them complete disclosure as to why you are asking. Your people deserve to know. I think when faced with the possibility of being re-invaded by Shao Kahn's forces, you'll be surprised how many people sign up. And if it's still not enough, then start drafting."

Queen Sindel nodded appreciatively. "Thank you Lord Raiden," she told him. She turned to everyone else in the room and first addressed the Earthrealmers. "I know that most of you have lives and responsibilities back on Earthrealm. And I do respect that. However, I would ask that you keep yourselves ready to defend Edenia at a moment's notice should either Raiden or I call for you."

Jax spoke for them all. "We will Your Highness," he assured her. "If there's trouble, just call for us and we'll come a 'running."

"Absolutely," Sonya agreed. "You can count on us."

Sindel smiled and turned to Jade. "General, please continue to keep all our divisions in prime fighting condition. We don't know when Shao Kahn will launch his assault and no matter when it comes, we want to be ready to stand against him as best we can."

"Of course You Majesty," Jade said with a nod.

Sindel then addressed Tanya. "Colonel Tanya… I expect you to assist the General in that endeavor to the best of your abilities."

Tanya gave a curt bow to Queen Sindel and replied with, "Yes Your Majesty. It shall be done."

Next Sindel spoke to Sub Zero. "As you and Smoke and Cyrax are outlaws from your own clan and now reside here on Edenia with the Mountain Division, for the most part anyway, I'll need you three to assist the General in any way you can too."

Sub Zero offered a respectful bow. "Of course Your Majesty. We will not fail you."

Sindel turned back to Jade. "General one other thing… please keep myself and Kitana appraised of the situation at least once a day. More if necessary."

"Yes my Queen," Jade answered.

Sindel turned to her daughter. "Kitana, you and I need to prepare a speech for the people asking for military service volunteers and why we are asking for them?"

Kitana smiled and nodded her head. "Of course Mother," she said. "I'll get started right away and later we can compare notes."

Again, Sindel nodded. "Now all we do is wait."

"Yes, but wait for what?" Kitana wondered. "The end… or the beginning?"

Jade tried to be optimistic. "We'll be ready when his disgusting horde dares to show itself," she assured the Queen.

 _Earthrealm, United States of America_

 _Union Station, Chicago – 22 hours after the hearing_

Brett looked up from the magazine he was reading at the TV screen where a repeat of last night's "Natalie Graves" was airing. True to his belief, she'd thus far spent the entire show… which was only half over… rattling on about how the NTSB was letting him get away with murder, his evasion of the press yesterday was proof of his guilt and promising her viewers that he would be brought to justice. In frustration, he threw the magazine he was reading at the TV. It hit the screen with a loud slap and dropped to the floor.

He was the only person seated in the Corporate VIP Room of AMRoad's Metropolitan Lounge and was therefore, separated from all the other sleeping car passengers waiting to board. Typically the room was reserved solely for corporate officers and VIP guests, the type that normally rode in a private railroad car coupled to an AMRoad train. He hated being segregated like this but he supposed AMRoad was doing it as much themselves as they were for him. With the Empire Builder booked solid, who knew how many of those people would demand a refund if they knew he was going to be on board. Even so, he was grateful to Jeff for doing what he could to ensure he got out of the city unnoticed.

As Jeff had promised, there had been a non-descript car waiting for Brett out behind the hotel at noon that had immediately brought him to Union Station. Upon arrival, AMRoad police had escorted him through a maze of secret tunnels and halls to the Corporate VIP Room where he now waited to board the westbound Empire Builder to Libby, Montana. All he had with him was a single camping sized back pack loaded with the last of his belongings that he had not yet sent ahead to Montana. Because of the two hunting knives he was carrying though, the AMRoad cops had immediately taken it to be checked into the baggage car.

He checked his watch and discovered it was almost 1:30. Boarding of sleeping car passengers was due to begin at precisely that time and coach passengers a half hour later so that everyone was on board in time for the 2:30 departure. If Jeff Borders came through on his last promise, he should be boarding the train any time now.

As if on cue, a steward from the train arrived along with a corporate officer and one of the AMRoad cops that had escorted him to the terminal earlier. "Mr. Hudson?" the steward asked.

"Yes?"

"We're ready for you sir," the steward replied. "If you'll come with us."

With no bag to carry and his magazine already more or less thrown away, Brett said, "All right," he muttered. "Let's get this over with."

As the group walked up a concrete ramp to the platform, the steward continued to speak. "We're putting you in the Transition Sleeper directly behind the locomotives mister Hudson," the steward said.

"With the rest of the crew, huh?" Brett asked.

"Yes sir," the steward replied.

 _It figures,_ Brett thought. AMRoad wanted to accommodate him but they still didn't want him near the rest of the paying passengers who might cause a fuss if they knew he was on board. At least by being with the rest of the crew there was some insulation from that.

The Empire Builder came into view on his left, the double decker coaches and sleepers almost seeming to be too big for the train shed. Near the rear of the train, it was reasonably quiet. But as they walked further up past the Sightseer Lounge car and the Diner, it began to get noisier as there were several Metra commuter trains parked on nearby tracks awaiting their departure times.

It got even noisier though as they approached the Transition Sleeper at the front of the train and the two P42DC locomotives idling away. Almost out of habit, Brett started walking towards the cab of the lead engine to climb aboard before the AMRoad cop reminded him that he was a passenger today, not the driver.

Brett sheepishly grinned as the cop handed him a slip of paper. "Your claim check for you bag sir," he said.

"Thanks," Brett replied taking it and stuffing it in his pocket.

"You'll be in room C sir," the steward said. "Go up the stairs, turn right and it'll be the third door you get to. Have a pleasant trip."

"Right," Brett nodded with a hint of sarcasm. Apparently the young steward had completely forgotten that he too, was an AMRoad employee and knew the layout of the various passenger cars quite well. Fah, there was no point in bringing that up. He just shook his head and climbed aboard.

His room had all the amenities that one expected in a Superliner Bedroom including an arm chair and a sofa, the latter of which would fold down into one of two berths at night. There was a private vanity with a sink along with a private toilet and shower, a fold-down table, individual reading lights, complimentary soap and shower amenities and other things.

He put his jacket in the teeny closet that was available, stripped off his shoes and sat lotus style in the middle of the room. He hadn't had any decent martial arts practice for a while now and while the cramped confines of a Superliner Bedroom were hardly the place to do such a thing, he could at least meditate. He closed his eyes and focused himself on the stillness around him, blocking out all other noise from the sounds of other patrons now down on the platform waiting to board, to the incessant rumble of the idling P42s.

Peace… tranquility… calmness… he let these things envelop him. He pushed thoughts of the accident from his mind. Thoughts of that silly irritant, Natalie Graves and that two-timing witch, Annette, were pushed from his mind. And as he did so, he dreamed he was an eagle. An eagle with its wings spread wide and flying majestically through the mountains.

He was so wrapped in his own thoughts and energies, Brett never felt the lurch of Empire Builder as it departed Union Station for the Pacific Northwest.

 _Realm of Edenia – Edenian Royal Palace – North Terrace_

 _Concurrent with events of Earth_

Standing out on one of the Edenian Royal Palace's northern terrace, Raiden leaned against the railing and looked up at the sky. As the sun started to set, a light breeze played against his face and he smiled. Despite being a god, it still amazed him that he was able to feel and experience many of the same sensations and pleasures that humans were able to feel. And if he didn't do something, many humans on both Edenia and Earth would never get a chance to feel simple pleasures like that again.

But what could he do? Protecting Edenia would also protect Earth in the long run. But his reasons for not committing whole armies to Edenia's defense were sound. And even if he could, where would he find them all? Earth's people and governments were so diverse and not always friendly towards one another. There was no way he could trust an American warrior to work side by side with say, a Ugandan warrior. He didn't want to admit it, but Earth had far fewer warriors capable of coming together and uniting in a common interest like this than most people realized. Sure there were a great many fighters on Earth. But very, very few true warriors.

He folded his hands and rested his head against them. _Elder Gods, what do I do? Please show me a sign._

Maybe they already had. He thought back to the vision he'd had not long before the meeting yesterday. At first he'd just dismissed it as silly, but he'd had it several times since then. If it was anywhere close to accurate, then Liu Kang's status as the Mortal Kombat champion had been a fluke all along. The true key to Earth and Edenia's salvation lie in the hands of a man that at this present moment, was totally unaware of the role he would play.

But that was only half of it. The other part of his vision revealed that a woman would also play a massive part in the salvation of both realms. A woman that as of right now, loyally served Shao Kahn himself. It was why Raiden had first dismissed the idea. How could someone who loyally served Shao Kahn suddenly be compelled to switch sides? But after the numerous times he'd experienced the vision, and a gentle probe of the woman's mind that she never knew happened, he'd began to see how it was possible, her defection was imminent.

Now Raiden was convinced that the vision he'd had so many times was in fact, the Elder Gods' way of showing him the path that needed to be taken. It was a radical one to be sure and a long shot to boot. If he were to discuss his idea with anyone else, most if not all of them would probably think he'd lost his mind. He chuckled to himself. Maybe they'd be right. But every now and then, a radical long shot paid off. Maybe this time it would pay off too.

"Still thinking about your decision," a voice behind him said.

He turned around and saw Princess Kitana standing behind him. "Your Highness," he said. "Yes, I am still… considering my options as it were."

She walked up next to him "I'm sorry if I'm being pushy," she apologized. Kitana leaned on the railing and looked out at the setting sun. "I'm just worried that after two years of freedom, everything we Edenians and you Earthrealmers have fought for will be destroyed. You know that if Edenia falls again, Earth will be next and Shao Kahn won't take any prisoners. Here or there."

Raiden resumed leaning on the railing and sighed heavily. "I know Your Highness," he said.

Kitana smiled. "Raiden, we've known each other for a while now and it was you who opened my eyes to all of Shao Kahn's lies about my family and heritage in the first place. I think you've earned the right to just call me Kitana."

He smiled in return. "Thank you… Kitana." He sighed deeply again. "My problem is selecting warriors for this cause."

Kitana was surprised. "I would've thought that on a world with as many people as Earth, finding fighters wouldn't be a problem."

"It's not," Raiden said. "Finding warriors is. There are a great many fighters in Earthrealm but not many warriors. There is a difference. Most of the fighters I know are interested only in competition for fame, money, prestige or any one of litany of other things other than a worthy cause. And many of those that would fight for a worthy cause would either have trouble accepting this one or accepting who they would have to work side by side with."

"What do you mean?" she asked him.

"Earthrealm is so diverse in its people and cultures, not all of whom are very kind to each other," he replied. "I cannot for example take an army of American soldiers and expect them to work side by side with a group of Middle Eastern religious fanatics, or vice versa. They'd just as soon kill each other, than take on Shao Kahn and his legions. Like it or not Kitana, many Earthrealmers are not friendly towards one another and the vast majority of Earth people are simply not ready to accept that they are not the only intelligent species in this vast universe we all inhabit. Many are so short sighted, they couldn't understand why they must get involved if you drew it out for them. Others would have religious objections to it and call what we're doing blasphemy. It never ceases to amaze me how many of the supposed "forward thinkers" and "enlightened ones" on Earth are among the most stubborn and closed-minded individuals I have ever seen."

Kitana thought she understood Raiden's dilemma. "So what do we do then?"

Raiden took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He wasn't ready to let anyone in on his idea yet. Well… almost anyone. "I… I wish I had an answer," he said.

An Edenian pageboy cleared his throat, prompting Raiden and Kitana to turn around. "Forgive my interruption Your Highness, Lord Raiden."

"That's all right," Kitana said sweetly. "What is it?"

The pageboy delivered his message. "Lord Raiden, Master Masamune has indicated that he wishes to speak with you. Shall I tell him you're busy?"

"No young man," Raiden replied in gratitude. "Please bring him to me right away. As it happens, I wish to speak with him as well."

"Very well sir," the pageboy replied. "I shall return shortly."

As the pageboy departed, Raiden turned back to Kitana. "Forgive me Your Highness, but I would speak with Master Masamune alone for the moment."

Kitana smiled. "Of course, don't let me interfere." As Kitana too departed she looked back out at the setting sun one more time and wondered literally if the sun was setting once again for Edenia.

Moments later, the pageboy returned with Master Yamato Masamune who was the older oriental man that had been in war room meeting earlier. After the young man had left the two men alone, Raiden spoke quietly to the aged Master. "You know why I wished to talk to you, don't you?"

"I do," Master Masamune said evenly. "And I do not like it."

Raiden smiled slightly. "I know you don't. I'm not sure I like it either. But as I've told you many times before Master Masamune… sometimes the odd long shot pays off."

"Yes but… why him?" Master Masamune demanded. "Why Brett? Hasn't he not suffered enough in his life with his combat experience, the accident, the hearings, his wife leaving him and his good name being mercilessly trod upon by the press? Does he really need to get involved in this?"

Raiden took a deep breath. "I'm not going to deny that your finest pupil hasn't paid more than his share of dues in life," he said. "And he will, sadly, pay some more. That being said, if what I have foreseen is even close to being accurate, then him getting involved will not only save Earthrealm and Edenia forever from the likes of Shao Kahn and his minions, but he will finally recover some of what he has lost and discover his true reason for living."

Masamune was silent for a long time as he thought over Raiden's words and thought about the gift he had presented Brett with when he was still a teenager. He finally looked at the storm God with a pained, but determined expression. "I just wish he didn't have to suffer more to get what he wants and deserves."

 _Earthrealm, United States of America_

 _Aboard the Empire Builder – 56 hours after the hearing_

With the sun rapidly setting over the peaks of the northern Rockies, Brett couldn't help but be awestruck by the sheer beauty of the sight. Although he'd driven the Empire Builder earlier in his career with AMRoad, he'd never driven it through scenery like this before. The flatlands of Illinois and Missouri were beautiful in their own right, but they had nothing on scenery like this.

Stabbing his fork into his plate, he swallowed one of the last bites of his dinner… the AMRoad Signature Streak with a fully loaded baked potato, vegetable medley and a glass of cabernet sauvignon to wash it all down. The irony of him enjoying a glass of wine with his meal now when he'd spent the last several months fighting against charges of being an alcoholic were not lost on him.

He checked his watch. Just past 10 pm. They were running about fifteen minutes late and therefore, would arrive in Libby at about ten minutes to eleven. After he collected his bag, it would be a short, three block walk to a hotel for a night's sleep. Come the morning, he'd set off for the twenty or so mile walk to his uncle's property.

There was a faint knock at the door which turned out to be the conductor, a young man who looked like he had yet to acquire his "train legs". That was an old railroader's term used to describe any trainman's ability to maintain his balance even as the train constantly rocked back and forth or screamed around a curve. The look on his face told Brett that something was wrong and he invited the man inside. "Mister conductor," he said. "Please, come in." He gestured towards the empty chair. "What can I do for you?"

The conductor sat down with a worried expression and faced him as he sat on the sofa. "I uh… Mister Hudson, I'm not sure how to say this… but…"

The conductor's beating around the bush told Brett everything he needed to know. "Then let me guess," he said. "The press somehow got wind of the fact that I'm on this train and they're gathering in Libby to ambush me. That sound about right?"

The young conductor was clearly relieved that Brett had figured it out on his own and did not have to be the bearer of bad news. "I'm afraid so Mister Hudson," he said. "I got a call from our station agent in Libby about ten minutes ago. There are at least fifty reporters gathered at the station right now with more arriving by the minute."

Brett shook his head. "I wonder how they found out," he asked though he was smart enough to guess that someone who had escorted him to the train in Chicago two days ago had probably blabbed it to someone else. Either that or sold him out directly.

"I… I have no idea," the conductor truthfully admitted. "I'm sorry about this sir. We tried to get you to your destination without them finding out. But now I'm not sure how we can get you around this one."

Yep, the conductor was green all right. There were ways to avoid the growing problem at Libby, but clearly this conductor had not yet been introduced to everything present in railroad culture. Certainly not everything in AMRoad culture. Hell, the Silver Streak delivered the Chicago Tribune to a retired railroad worker just outside Chillicothe, Illinois every day. Brett couldn't count how many times he'd thrown that paper into the guy's backyard from the engine cab as they whizzed by.

And then there was divorcee. A lady not much older than him whose house backed up to the tracks in Galesburg, Illinois. Every day, she was there in her yard waiting for the Silver Streak to come through town. And when it did, she would wave and blow kisses at the engine crew. What made her interesting was what she wore when she did it. Sometimes she wore a slinky party dress. Sometimes she wore a T-shirt and jeans. Sometimes she wore a bikini. And sometimes she wore nothing at all. Silver Streak crews, including Brett, had long been betting amongst themselves what she would be wearing when they went by her.

"There are ways to deal with the problem, I assure you," Brett said. "Got a map of the line on you?" He knew the conductor should have one, but this one being as green as he was, Brett wanted to be sure.

"Yeah, got it right here," the conductor replied, reaching into his bag.

Brett pulled the table down. "Let's have a look at it."

The conductor spread his map open as best he could on the table, then waited patiently as Brett examined it. He put one finger on Libby, Montana and the other on Whitefish, which they'd departed about forty-five minutes earlier. He then took his finger off Whitefish and put it at a spot along the line between the two. "What milepost are we at right now?"

For that, the conductor had to get on his radio and call the engine crew. "Engine, this is conductor."

"Go ahead," came the response.

"Yeah, what milepost are we at presently?"

"Uh, we just past milepost sixteen sixty-two," the engine replied. "Why?"

"Standby engine," the conductor replied. He looked to Brett for what he was supposed to tell them.

"Tell them to stop the train at milepost seventeen hundred," Brett told them. "If they ask why, tell them it is necessary in order to facilitate the unexpected but safe removal of a passenger. If they ask how long the delay will be, tell them two to five minutes, tops. They won't question it."

The conductor wasn't so sure and had a look of great uncertainty on his face. One was not supposed to stop a train and discharge passengers at any time or place except a designated station.

Brett smiled. "How old are you?"

"Uh, I'm twenty-three sir."

Brett nodded. "Young man, I've been driving AMRoad trains longer than you've been alive. And in that time, I've stopped to let off-duty crew members get off the train in the middle of nowhere for one reason or another countless times. I'm sure those guys up front have too if they've been working longer than a couple of years. That's why I say they won't question you. Do everything you can to prepare ahead time and you'll only be stopped for a minute or two."

The conductor got back on the radio. "Engine, I need you to come to a full stop at milepost seventeen hundred."

"What for?"

The conductor practically recited Brett's words verbatim. "I need to facilitate the safe but unexpected removal of a passenger from the train at that location."

A moment went by with nothing from the engine and for a moment, the conductor wondered if they were going to question him anyway. But then the engineer called back with, "Roger conductor. Will come to a full stop at milepost seventeen hundred and await your further instructions."

The conductor was amazed. "Thank you engine," he replied and looked at Brett. "How did you know?"

"You're the conductor," he said. "Which means you're the boss. Their job is to receive and discharge passengers, follow the rules and drive the train from A to B. That's it. And as long as what you tell them to do doesn't put anyone's lives at risk and needlessly delay traffic, they will not question you if you command them to stop the train for a moment for any reason."

And so it was about twenty-five minutes later that the Empire Builder ground to a stop in the middle of a curve a stone's throw from the Kootenai River. Brett stumbled slightly on the track ballast as he got off. But he regained his footing easily. In the middle of nowhere, it was pitch black outside and he used the conductor's borrowed flashlight to illuminate his way as he headed up to the baggage car.

The conductor was waiting for him. As Brett returned the flashlight to him, he handed Brett his backpack through the open baggage car door. "There you are sir," he said.

"Thanks," Brett replied as pulled a large survival knife from the pack and strapped it to his belt. After he'd done that, he removed two more items from his pack. The first was his military issued ID tags, commonly called "dog tags" which he put around his neck. The second was another necklace of sorts on a much shorter chain than his ID tags. The most curious thing about it were the three bullets that hung from it, mementos of yet another bygone era of his life. With that done, he re-closed the pack and started to put it on. "And thank you for helping me avoid the unwanted crowd at Libby."

The conductor smiled. "You're welcome Mister Hudson. How far do you have to go from here?"

"Not sure," Brett admitted. "Thirty miles, maybe a little more."

The conductor looked concerned. "Will you be okay out there?"

Brett chuckled. "I'll be just fine young man," he said. "I'm an experienced outdoorsman and I've got some tools in here that'll help."

"All right then. Good luck to you Mister Hudson."

"You as well." With a tightening of the shoulder straps, he finished putting his pack on. "Go on, get out of here. You got a schedule to keep, remember? Can't do that standing here worryin' about me."

The conductor laughed and got on the radio. "All right engine, we're good back here. Highball to continue west."

"Roger, highball westward."

There were two short blasts on the horn, followed by the familiar whine of the prime movers as they spooled up and the train began to move once again. As it slowly gathered speed, Brett waved to the conductor who returned it before retreating back into the baggage car and closing the door. Standing beside the track, Brett watched with a hint of sadness as the cars passed him. It seemed almost like his past twenty-four years of life were leaving him… rolling away, never to be caught again. He chuckled somewhat unhappily. Maybe they were.

He watched the red marker lights of the last coach recede in the distance until he could see them no longer. Then, walking down the middle of the tracks, he began his journey. From his review of the map earlier, he knew there was a railroad crossing about a mile west of where he was. He'd even heard the Empire Builder sound for it after it had departed. For now, he'd follow the tracks to that road and then use it to cross the Kootenai River. After that, he'd go cross country to his uncle's house.

As he walked, the track ballast crunching under his feet, he thought about his situation. Although he had yet to tell Jeff Borders anything, he'd already pretty much concluded that his railroad career was over. It was sad. Working for AMRoad was all he'd done since the age of eighteen. Now at 42, he'd been with them for twenty-four years and didn't really know anything else. He'd hoped to retire at the throttle of the Silver Streak when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 60. At that point, he'd have had forty-two years of service and been eligible for a full government pension with full benefits.

It was a little chillier than he'd expected and he folded his arms across his chest to help keep warm as he walked. Getting a full pension didn't seem very likely now. Right now it seemed like he would only get about a 65% pension with half benefits… if he was lucky. And he wouldn't start collecting that until he was sixty-seven. So what the hell was he supposed to do for the next twenty-five years? With his savings largely depleted by defending himself in the accident investigation, and his ex-wife taking most of what remained in the divorce, he had almost no money to his name and he had no other skills.

Well, he certainly had little money, but maybe he was selling himself short on the skills. He'd been a practicing martial artist since he was about four and had been considered a master since he was in late teens. He was well versed in the mysterious and esoteric ways of unarmed combat as well as armed with a variety of edged, pole and ranged weapons. And his earlier comment to conductor about being an experienced outdoorsman was true too. Since childhood, he'd been taught the skills of primitive survival and was quite capable of living out in the wilderness if need be. In fact, he tested his skills often by going on at least one camping trip per year taking little more than what he had on him now when he went. His wife had always seemed to enjoy the few trips she'd been on with him, but maybe she'd been lying about that like she had about a lot of things in their marriage.

Perhaps he'd look into law enforcement. Aside from being an accomplished outdoorsman and survivalist expert, he was also an accomplished hunter and had been doing so since childhood. And he'd been a US Army reservist for quite a few years until just before the accident. Trained as a sniper, he'd been called to action more than a couple times over the last two decades. Police departments were always looking for good sharpshooters, or so he'd been led to believe.

Or maybe instead of law enforcement, he'd open his own outdoorsman's store or martial arts school. He could very easily spend the next quarter century or so doing that and be quite happy doing so. Let Natalie Graves and Annette have their spotlights. Sooner or later, they'd both get burned by them. He just wanted his anonymity back.

Fortunately, he did not encounter any other trains during his brief walk along the rail line. And as soon as he reached the railroad crossing, he headed north on the highway across the river. With his eyes now fully adjusted to the darkness, maintaining his path with only the light of the stars and the moon to guide him was easy. After crossing the river, he pulled his survival knife from its sheath and checked the compass that screwed into the bottom of the handle. Determining that from here he had to travel northwest several miles before backtracking east some distance to avoid some very rough terrain ahead of him, he headed into the wilderness.

 _Realm of Outworld – Shao Kahn's Palace – The Dungeon_

 _Concurrent with events of Earth_

With her arms bound in shackles and hanging uselessly above her head, the warrior known only as Skarlet did her best to sleep. It wasn't easy for her constantly hanging from the ceiling like this, but she did the best she could… even if she did wake up every so often with her muscles aching. But even when that happened usually all it took was a little shifting and stretching and she could eventually fall back asleep.

This night however, she was restless as she had been for the past several nights. Not now. Not again. What did this mean? Why was she constantly having this dream? It was the same thing every time. A man… a man she didn't know and could barely see was walking in dim light towards her. He was tall and his facial features were somewhat obscured by the darkness. He just kept walking… walking towards _her_.

She shifted position, the steel chains that bound her clattering against the dingy stone walls. But she did not yet wake. Even as the dream progressed however, she instinctively tried to move. To get out of the way of whatever was coming at her.

 _Bellatores de omnibus terris et unite existent…_

She heard the words like an echo as she heard another sound. A faint horn of some kind. It seemed to be coming from behind him, but the man… whoever he was… appeared unfazed by it. There it was again, a little louder this time. And still the unknown man walked toward her. A white light of some kind began to form behind the man as he approached. What was it from? It slowly got brighter as she heard that horn again, louder still.

 _Maledicti et Excommunicati daemones…  
_

The white light got brighter and brighter until she could no longer make out any detail of the man who approached except his outline. And as the light got brighter, so too did the horn get louder. The man seemed to be controlling them or summoning them. But how? He still appeared to do nothing except walk towards her.

 _Ubi fuerint haec nomina et digna Dei…_

The light was near blinding now and the horn almost deafening. She squinted her eyes shut in an effort to make out whatever it was that was coming at her. It was incredibly close now. She clamped her hands over her ears in a vain effort to drown out the sound of that horn. And then there was a new sound, some kind of rumbling and roaring noise. It had a distinct unnatural sound to it and didn't seem to be coming from any kind of living creature. What was making these horrible noises?

 _Utus potestatem, per pestem nec per aliquod…_

And then with wide eyes, she finally saw it. A metal behemoth of some origin was bearing down on her and the approaching man at an incredibly high rate of speed. Whatever It was, it's what was making all the noise. Who knew what it was or where it came from? But as the metal monstrosity closed in, the horn it possessed was now so loud, it made her head hurt and the rumbling noise it made only added to its fearsomeness.

 _Adunare et_ _mittere_ _ad_ _infernum_ _damnatorum_ _…_

Towering many feet above the two of them, the roaring metallic monster passed through the man in front of her as if he wasn't even there. With one final shriek of its horn, it was on top of her in a flash. Looking up near the top of it, she screamed in terror as she suddenly sensed her life was coming to a violent end.

 _Sed v_ _errat_ _rotas_ _argentea_ _s!_

With a gasp of fear, Skarlet's head jerked up as she finally woke. With the chains that restrained her clinking and clattering she looked around dreadfully in all directions, searching for any sign of the colossal metal mammoth. But it was nowhere to be seen. The only thing that met her eyes was the endless black depth of her cell and the faint light from a single torch somewhere out in the corridor.

A few seconds earlier whatever that metal monstrosity was had seemed so real, she felt as if she could actually reach out and touch it. But now that thing, whatever it was, was gone and there was no sign of it, nor was there any sign it had ever truly been there. And when she realized that, Skarlet finally started to calm down and allow her racing heart to slow its pace.

Not for the first time, Skarlet realized she was feeling something she had felt very rarely in her life. Fear. Whatever this thing was, whoever that man was, they terrified her. Every night now for the past three weeks, she'd had that same dream. And she had it multiple times per night. It was almost getting to the point where she dreaded going to sleep. Something or someone was trying to tell her something. But what? Was this man a threat to her? Was he a threat to Shao Kahn? Was he something else entirely? She had no answers to her questions though as everything in the dream except her own presence was unfamiliar to her.

"What does it all mean?" she whispered to herself in darkness.

Of course no answer was forthcoming from the black nothingness and she tugged at her chains in frustration.

"What does it all mean?"

 _Earthrealm, United States of America_

 _Somewhere in Montana – 70 hours after the hearing_

After walking through the darkened wilderness for several hours, Brett stopped to rest and got a few hours of sleep beneath an old oak tree. Waking just after sunrise, he resumed his trek, coming upon a country road an hour or so after that. Checking his map of the area, he decided to follow the road north a few miles and ended up stopping for breakfast at a local country diner along the way.

Finally, just before noon, Brett arrived at his uncle's property. Just in case any nosy reporters managed to trace him here, he didn't access the main gate at the front of the property, opting instead to walk around to the west side where a smaller gate hidden in some trees was located.

He laughed when he checked his watch. It was nearly fourteen and half hours since he'd gotten off the Empire Builder now and those passengers going on to Seattle still had a five hundred and five mile trip ahead of them from the point where he'd hopped off. In spite of that, assuming the train was on time, their trip had ended nearly two hours earlier and he'd had to travel only a fraction of the distance. Oh well, he didn't mind.

The house was a sprawling one-story, 3,600 square foot dwelling with five bedrooms, four bathrooms, kitchen, a formal living room and a formal dining room, a game room, a home office and a family room. There was also a finished basement below not counted in the living space which effectively doubled the square footage of the house. Overall, it was very nice and much more than what Brett had lived in back in the Chicago area.

Using the keys provided by his uncle, he entered through the back door of the family room and found most of the furniture was covered with sheets. He'd expected that. His uncle didn't use this property very often and had actually been considering putting it up for sale for some time. Brett was glad he hadn't done that yet.

He removed the sheet from the family room sofa and set his back pack down on it, his aching shoulders thanking him for the relief. Brett decided to get his bearings first and unpack / unwrap stuff later. "Anyone home?" he called out. As he expected, there was no answer.

He walked to the front of the house and discovered all of his boxes of possessions, nearly twenty-five in all, had all been stacked neatly in the foyer. They included three rather large boxes each labeled Roxanne, Eva and Kathy. Good. He'd begin the task of unboxing what he needed later and shove what he didn't need into storage someplace. He also reminded himself to look for a special box he'd labeled as such when he packed it back in Chicago as he hadn't seen it stacked with the others.

In the kitchen however, Brett found the box he was looking for as it was marked, "Open Me First." It was sitting on the kitchen floor and a handwritten note lay on top of the kitchen table near it.

"Dearest nephew," the note said. "I thought this box might be important given the way you labeled it, so I placed it here for you to find easily when you arrive. Do you realize how heavy that box is and how difficult it was for me to drag and push it from the front door to the kitchen? What's in it? Anyway, a few things to bear in mind… your electricity, other utilities, satellite TV, Wi-Fi and phone service have all been paid for up to the first of the year. After that, if you're still there, you'll have to pay for them yourself. Should you lose power for whatever reason, there is a diesel powered generator out behind the house that will keep all the necessities powered for 10 hours per tank of gas. You'll find about 50 gallons of fuel stored in the garage if you need it.

"Finally I took the liberty of stocking the freezer and cupboards with some food items, so you won't have to immediately rush away to the grocery store when you get there," the note went on. "Other than that, just relax and enjoy your stay. You know my number if you need to call. Love, Uncle John."

Brett smiled and put the note aside. Using his survival knife, he sliced open the box and revealed the contents… two rifles and a sword. The rifles were military issue sniper rifles, both of which he was intimately familiar with due to the six times in the past twenty-two years his former Army Reserve unit had been called to action. The first was an SR25, a 7.62mm caliber weapon with a built-in sound and flash suppressor. Equipped with an AN/PVS10 Day-Night scope, it had an effective range of 875 yards although Brett had successfully engaged targets at just over a thousand yards in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The next rifle was the Barrett M82A1, a .50 caliber beast known as the "Light 50". Although it did have a flash suppressor, it did not possess a sound suppressor. But since the rifle had a maximum effective range of just under 2,000 yards, who cared? At that distance, someone hit by that rifle would never hear the shot before he was hit, much less see him. With a Leupold Mark 4 Day-Night scope, the weapon was just as deadly in the dark as it was in the daytime.

Once in Afghanistan, Brett had successfully engaged a target at 2,425 yards making it the sixth longest recorded kill shot in history. But it was something he didn't talk about much as he rarely talked about any of his war time experience. After all, not many people would believe that one of America's most successful marksmen did his job on a part-time basis and drove passenger trains in his day to day life. It was why his accomplishment was rarely talked about compared to some of the others. Because he was a reservist and they were full-timers, Brett was often viewed as an upstart, unworthy of the certification he'd been given.

He didn't care. In the end he'd done his job and that was all that mattered. So what if he'd made an incredibly long shot like he had. If the others couldn't stand it because he was a reservist and they weren't, well that was their problem. It was in the record books and there was nothing they could do to take that away from him.

The sword was full tang and seemed to be a curious mix between a katana, a falchion and a machete. Single edged in nature, the flat broad blade was not a quite a meter in length. From the tip, the sharp curved gradually outward for about a third of the blade's full length before bowing inward where a portion of the edge became serrated. After curving back out, the blade made a more abrupt inward curve that took it to the simple handguard.

The back side of the blade had several notches in it running up from the handguard that were useful for trapping and parrying other blades. From there the blade ran straight a short way before curving outward slightly to the tip. The handle was systematically wrapped in a cloth band like a katana's handle and the pommel was abruptly squared off. It included a small hole in case the owner wished to thread some kind ceremonial plume or other ornamentation to it.

Though long, it was relatively light weight and easy to use one handed or two handed. His master, Yamato Masamune had commissioned the sword be made especially for him and it had been made using the extraordinarily rare, Japanese seven layer Soshu Kitae method. It was a method that had been around for nearly a thousand years and produced the finest quality blades. Today, they were also among the most expensive to make.

Brett had received the weapon when he was only sixteen years old and at the time he'd questioned why Masamune had commissioned such a fine weapon for him. His answer had simply been, "You are by far, my best and brightest student. I foresee you will one day surpass even me in you skill and knowledge of the fighting arts. But to truly achieve what I believe will ultimately be yours you will one day need a weapon such as this. Trust me Brett. Value this weapon as you value your life."

His snaky ex-wife had tried to get her hands on it during the divorce procedure but his lawyer had argued that because it was a gift to him from his childhood mentor. She not only had no claim to it, she was seeking it only out of malicious intent. Surprisingly, the judge had agreed with his side of that story and it was why he'd been able to keep most of the items Annette hadn't gotten her hands on. Even so, it amazed Brett no end how much Annette had been rewarded for being a liar.

His stomach growled and reminded him he was getting hungry. He'd check the fridge and cupboards in a little while. First a shower was in order as after the long walk, he was smelling rather ripe. With that out of the way, he put his dog tags and bullet necklace back on and turned his attention towards his rumbling stomach. And as he did so, he suddenly sensed he was not alone in the house. He stopped what he was doing and listened intently. Nothing seemed to be out of place. "Hello?" he said.

No answer came back to him.

Sopping wet with a towel wrapped around his lower body, he stepped out of the bathroom and quietly padded back towards the kitchen. "Hello?" he called out again as he gripped his sword and adopted a ready stance. He didn't see anything but proceeded slowly forward anyway. "Is someone there?" Again, no answer came back to him.

After cautiously making his way through the entire house and the basement, Brett was satisfied that his mind had been playing tricks on him. Maybe it was just his nerves. Although this was private property, there was no way he could keep an eye on every inch of it at every time. It was just too damn big. He made a mental note to himself to post "No Trespassing Under Threat of Prosecution" signs along the perimeter fence. That might act as a deterrent if the press learned where he was and some reporters decided to get a little too nosy.

He yawned deeply and decided that what he needed before he did absolutely anything else was a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. Then with a fresh mind and a fresh attitude, he could start going about making himself at home here. Suddenly finding himself too tired to even bother walking to the bedroom, he flopped down on the family room couch… only to fall right through the cushions and into a blackened, bottomless abyss.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" he screamed in terror as he endlessly fell until he blacked out.


	2. One or a Thousand: Chapter 2

**One or a Thousand, Chapter 2**

 _Realm of Edenia, the Royal Palace_

 _The Royal Infirmary_

Where… where was he? In a bed? Yes, he was in a bed of some kind. Sure didn't feel like his own bed though. Felt more like the beds in a hospital ward. Was he in the hospital? Had he been injured? Had he been wounded by the Taliban? Or maybe he'd been hurt in the accident? It sure seemed to feel that way, but he didn't feel any pain. Maybe the reason he couldn't feel any pain now was because he could never again feel pain. Maybe he was dead.

That noise. There was a noise nearby like a ringing in his ears. What the hell was it? Voices? Yes, he heard voices. Whoever they were from, they were close by. A man and woman. They seemed to be discussing him and the woman seemed to be questioning the man's judgment rather intensely. What was going on here? Why was he hearing voices?

Fear suddenly gripped him as his mind pieced together the events that had occurred immediately prior to this moment. The sofa! He'd fallen right through it and into… into… well who the hell knew what he'd fallen into! The last thing he remembered was falling through what seemed to be an endless pit and blacking out before waking up in who in the hell knew where he was at the moment because he had not yet dared to open his eyes.

"One man Lord Raiden?" The woman's voice questioned. "One man? If this is all you plan on giving us Lord Raiden, we need more than reinforcements. We need an outright miracle!" She snorted loudly. "One man indeed!"

 _Wow,_ Brett thought. _Whoever that woman is, she is none too happy with this Lord Raiden character. And it looks like this Lord Raiden guy is directly responsible for wherever the hell I am and what has happened to me._

"You must trust my judgment on this Queen Sindel," he heard the male voice say. "I know my decision may seem a little… unusual given the circumstances."

"Unusual?" the female voice barked loudly and who Brett now assumed was this Queen Sindel he'd just heard mentioned. "I'm wondering if this doesn't border on total lunacy."

"I understand your thoughts Queen Sindel," Raiden spoke patiently. "But sometimes it is better to receive one tiger than one thousand sheep."

He felt someone's hand applying a cool, damp cloth to his face. The touch was gentle and calming. Despite his fear, Brett relaxed a little bit. He had no idea who was touching him, but even though the grip was strong, he could tell it was female. There was a certain gentleness and softness about it that was unmistakable.

From somewhere behind him Queen Sindel snorted. "I wonder if we should just surrender to Shao Kahn now?" she asked.

Raiden lost it a little bit. "You're Majesty," he growled. "You have asked me for my help and I have given it to you. I have brought you one of the finest warriors you will ever find on Earthrealm. Now what you choose to do next is entirely your decision, but if you are going to needlessly surrender before the battle begins, at least let me transport all of you to Earthrealm so that your lives may be spared. That is unless you plan on coming to terms with Shao Kahn's impending invasion the way you came to terms with his last one?"

Queen Sindel gave Raiden an incredulous look that mirrored the ones she was getting from others. She snorted again and shook her head in disbelief. One man? One male warrior? What the hell good was one male warrior going to be especially when he looked to be bordering on middle age? She glared at him angrily. "Fine Raiden. For the time being we'll play it your way. But if this one man doesn't prove to be everything that you claim he is, I hope you will know in your heart that it was your decision that destroyed Edenia."

"That will not come to pass, I assure you," Raiden spoke with conviction, though in truth he was still harboring some doubts of his own.

Queen Sindel wasn't so sure. "You'd better be right Raiden. Because at the precise moment, it seems to me, and quite possibly to a few others, that you have absolutely zero idea of what you are doing." She snorted loudly in near-contempt. "One man indeed."

Brett Hudson suddenly found he had the strength to move. He sat bolt upright and opened his eyes, the first thing he saw being a beautiful young woman with long black hair and the most revealing cerulean blue outfit he'd ever seen in his life outside of a strip club. "Oh good, you're finally awake," she spoke from behind her blue facial mask.

Without thinking, he bolted out of the bed and scampered into the nearest corner. He turned to face whoever was in the room in a fighting stance. If he was going to go out now, he was going to take as many of these people, whoever they were, with him as he could. "Where the hell am I?" Brett Hudson demanded angrily. "And who the hell are all of you?"

A couple of the others in the room had taken notice of Brett's sudden move and assumed fighting stances as well. The woman in blue motioned for them all to stand down. "Everyone relax," she protested. "After what he's just been through, he's probably terrified." She turned back to Brett. "Good sir, I am Kitana," the young woman introduced herself cautiously. "Princess of the realm of Edenia… which is where you are at the moment. Well more specifically, the Edenian Royal Palace Infirmary."

Looking around, it did indeed seem he was inside some kind of medical ward, though it was unlike any other medical ward he'd seen with glowing orbs of… of whatever floating in some kind of suspended animation next to each bed. He actually found it slightly amusing. "Edenia? Another planet?" He chuckled. "Okay then. And just where in the hell is Edenia praytell?"

Raiden answered. "Where Edenia is, is not important. The challenges that Edenia will soon face… well unless you'd like to see a war descend upon Earth of which it has no chance of winning, the challenges Edenia faces are very important."

"Says you buddy," Brett growled. "Why would I find anything here to be of the least importance to me?"

"Before I answer that question, do you mind?" Raiden gestured towards Brett with both hands.

"Do I mind what?" Brett angrily demanded.

One of the other people in the room, another young woman like Kitana wearing an equally revealing emerald green outfit, pointed at him. "Um… when you dropped in on us sir, you weren't wearing very much."

"Anything actually," Kitana said and Brett saw her blush slightly. "Except whatever those curious items that you have around your neck are."

He looked down to discover he was totally naked save for his dog tags and bullet necklace. _Shit_. In his haste to put some distance between himself and whoever these people were, he'd forgotten that when he'd fallen through his bed, he'd been preparing to go to sleep and wearing only the towel he'd wrapped himself in after getting out of the shower. So it made sense that when he'd arrived in wherever the hell this was, he was naked as a jaybird. Brett rolled his eyes and got his first look at the woman in green. Her skin was a little darker as if she had a permanent suntan and her hair was just as long as Kitana's yet it was tied back in a long tail. Overall, she was just as strikingly beautiful as Kitana was.

He noticed his towel lying on the bed where he'd woken up and gestured towards it. "Well unless one of you throws me that towel there, I'm going to stay just like this because I'll be damned if I'm going to let my guard down at the moment."

The woman in green offered him a smirk from beneath her veil and threw the towel in his direction. Brett caught it in mid-air and quickly placed it around his waist. With a modicum of modesty back in place, he looked at the woman in green. "And who might you be?"

"I am known as Jade," the lady responded.

"A princess too?" Brett asked sarcastically.

"Hardly," Jade replied. "I'm Edenia's top military officer."

"A general," Brett said even more sarcastically. "Impressive." He turned again towards Raiden and it finally registered to him that the man he was addressing had shimmering white eyes. "Okay Mister Sparky, you look like you've got answers. Why am I here in this… place?" He jerked a thumb back in Queen Sindel's direction. "I heard you and Queenie there say something about needing some reinforcements. What the hell are you talking about? What reinforcements? For what? And how do you think I figure into whatever little scheme you've got cooking?"

Sindel was incensed. "Queenie?"

Raiden raised his hands and tried to calm him down. "Please try to relax," he said. "I know you have no idea what's going on here and that all this must come as a rather big shock to you. But please try and get acclimated to what's going on here."

"I'll relax when I think I can relax," Brett told him. "Right now… I don't feel I can."

"Brett please listen to me," Raiden implored. "May I call you Brett?"

"No. Only my family calls me Brett," he replied. "My friends call me Maverick. And you're neither Mister Sparky."

Raiden frowned slightly. This was more difficult than he'd planned for. "Look First Sergeant Casey Jones," he said sarcastically, "if you don't relax just a little bit, you won't hear what I've got to say about why you're here. Do you think you can just listen for a few minutes?"

Kitana turned to Jade. "Who's Casey Jones?" she whispered.

Jade shrugged and shook her head, indicating she had no idea either.

Brett didn't her the exchange and kept his eyes focused on Raiden. He offered the storm God a slight bow. "Maybe I'll hear you out. But regardless, you first get to answer a question of mine."

Raiden folded his arms in front of chest. "Ask your question if you must though I do not guarantee I will answer."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I am Lord Raiden," he answered. "God of thunder and lightning and protector of Earthrealm."

Brett's expression told Raiden he hadn't believed a word of what he'd just said. "Oh," he said with a mocking expression and tone. "A God huh? Well then Mister Sparky, if you're a supposedly all-powerful deity, perhaps you can beam me out of here and back to where I was five minutes ago?"

Raiden shook his head. "Not before you're heard what I have to say."

"And suppose I don't want to hear whatever the hell it is you have to say?"

"Enough! Enough!" another male voice boomed from some distance away. Master Masamune entered the room and got right in Raiden's face. "I warned you this was exactly how he was going to react, which is why I said I needed to be present when he woke up!"

Brett couldn't believe what he was looking at. What in the world was he doing here? The others in the room noticed that he started to relax as Master Masamune turned to face him. "Uncle?" Brett asked quietly.

Yamato Masamune stepped towards the man he knew as his finest pupil and nephew and offered a pleasant smile. "Yes Brett, it's me."

That revelation surprised everyone in the room except Raiden. "Your nephew Master Masamune?" Queen Sindel asked in a startled tone.

"This man is your nephew?" Kitana echoed her mother's disbelief.

"Well obviously he's not my nephew naturally," Master Masamune said. "I would've thought that was obvious. But I've known him since he was but a small boy and he's called me "Uncle Yamato" for quite a few years. So why wouldn't I call him my nephew? In fact, in some ways I view this man as more of a son than a nephew." He stepped closer to Brett and looked him in the eyes with an uncle's pride. "He's been my best student, a good, honest, hard-working man and a loyal solider. I couldn't have ever asked for better. He placed a comforting hand on Brett's shoulder. "Please Brett, relax. There is nothing for you to fear here. Let us… let me try to explain to you why you are here. Why Raiden has summoned you to this place."

"Please don't tell me I've died and gone to hell Uncle Yamato," Brett asked him and fearing the answer.

Masamune laughed. "Not hardly. Look, I know this all seems to be bit overwhelming right now. I know you have no idea why you're here or what's going on. I know you are probably scared out of your wits and I know you have a lot of questions. But I promise you, you are among friends here. And I and all of us will do our best to answer any and all questions that you may have. No doubt they will be numerous. All right Brett?"

Brett looked at his "uncle" with a skeptical eye. How did he know this wasn't some kind of trick? But trick by who or what? Deciding the only way to know for sure what was going on here was to listen to whatever Masamune had to say, Brett slowly nodded. "You know if my father, Jeff, were here right now, he would have a lot more questions for you than I do."

Masamune knew it was test and he could appreciate it. "Yes he would… if his name was Jeff and not James."

Brett smiled and nodded. "Yeah it was. Sorry, but I had to be sure. At least now I can rest assured that maybe I'm only half crazy instead of a total lunatic."

Masamune nodded. "I understand. I promise you Brett, you won't regret this." He gestured towards the doorway he'd entered from a moment earlier. "Come… let's talk."

 _The White Drawing Room_

Seated in a Victorian styled chair elegantly upholstered in soft white cloth and trimmed in gold along its hardwood edges, Brett absently spun a large globe next to him around and around. Only the globe didn't present him with a map of any place he knew. _Must be this Edenia planet I've suddenly been beamed to,_ he thought.

Living up to its namesake, the White Drawing Room was decorated in various shades of white and cream. Victorian style furniture, elegantly upholstered and engraved was neatly placed throughout the room and a large round table was situated by the window and was already laid out with a silver tea set along with well-designed china.

Featured on one wall was a grayish white marble fireplace that, although currently not in use, smelled like it had been recently. A massive crystal and gold chandelier hung from the ceiling, though Brett had no idea how it worked as there were no light switches anywhere. Several linen tapestries hung from the ceiling and fine sculptures and other works of art were proudly displayed around the room.

Over the course of the last several hours Brett had listened intently to everything that Masamune, Raiden, Princess Kitana and Jade had to say. And with each passing moment, it seemed more and more like it was something out of a fairy tale or a bad horror flick or both. Other worlds, other races, invasions, deities for protectors, sorcery, magic, Mortal Kombat tournaments that decided the fates of worlds… it was all just way too overwhelming for him.

If Brett hadn't heard all this straight out of the mouth of Masamune himself, he'd have concluded long ago that he was in some bizarre dream or locked up in an insane asylum. He'd even discreetly pinched himself a couple times early on just to make sure that wasn't the case. Overall, his head pounded in pain and no amount of massaging was alleviating it.

Masamune finally finished his story and watched as Brett massaged his aching head. The story he'd just been told seemed to wild. Too fanciful. Too unbelievable. "Look Brett," Masamune said. "I know this all seems just too bizarre to be true and it's a lot for you to digest in such a short time…"

"Do you think Uncle?" Brett replied with more than a hint of sarcasm. "I mean, one minute I'm at my Uncle John's property in Montana trying to figure out how I'm going to restructure my life after the accident, the hearings, that crazy journalist who does nothing but smear my name in the tabloids and my ex-wife have all thrown it into the shredder. Next minute… poof… here I am on some other world thanks to Mister Sparky here." He jerked a thumb over in Raiden's direction.

Masamune looked terrified. "Please forgive his words Lord Raiden. He doesn't know what he's saying."

Raiden only chuckled. "No need to apologize Master Masamune. In his shoes, I'd be feeling like I was out of my mind as well."

"Thank you for the understanding," Brett told him. He massaged his head some more. The look on his face was one Masamune knew well. Brett was trying to put all the pieces together into some kind of order where he could make sense of it all. "All right," he said finally. "Assuming that I'm not going completely out of my mind here, let's review. We got this crackpot named Shao Kahn who is supposedly the emperor of this place called Outworld."

"There's no supposedly about it," Masamune insisted.

"Fine. And supposedly this Shao Craphead is hell bent on controlling every other supposed realm in the universe including Earth. But because this Liu Kang whatchamacallit guy defeated him in this Mortal Kombat tournament, the ability for him to invade Earth is closed to him for five hundred years. At least that's what the supposed rules set forth by the supposed Elder Gods you keep telling me about have decreed."

"Liu Kang is a Shaolin monk," Masamune reminded him. "And yes, that's what the rules say."

"Whatever. Then we have his two most trusted sorcerers, Shang Tsung and Quan Chi," Brett continued. "And a laundry list of top generals, enforcers and assassins, several of which come from a very well-known international arms consortium on Earth. And on top of that, there is another laundry list of players like this Tarkatan race you speak of, plus the so-called Saurian race, the Centaurian race, the Shokan race, the basic Outworlder race, a partridge in a pear tree and God knows who else. Is that all correct?"

Now it was Jade's turn to lean over towards Kitana. "Partridge in a pear tree? What's that?"

Kitana merely shrugged as Jade had before. "He doesn't seem to be taking this all that seriously," she observed.

"Try to remember Jade, that less than a day ago he had no idea that we or any of this even existed," Jade whispered in return. "Whether we realize it or not, his mind is still trying to process all that we've been telling him. He's bound to be skeptical or sarcastic. He doesn't know us from Shao Kahn or anyone else, so why should he take what we've been saying at face value? In his shoes, I wouldn't."

"Perhaps so," Kitana was forced to admit. "But I'm still beginning to wonder if mother is right about Lord Raiden."

"Right about what?" Jade inquired.

"If whatever Raiden is hoping to accomplish by bringing just this one man doesn't border on complete lunacy." Kitana answered.

Jade frowned. "You might be right about that," she said. As she spoke, her frown slowly curled into a smile. "And yet despite that, there's something oddly intriguing about him."

"How so?"

"Did you not see the fighting stance he dropped into back in the infirmary?" Jade asked. "Did you not hear how Raiden addressed him? He called him First Sergeant."

"He also called him Casey Jones, whatever that means," Kitana said.

Jade sighed. "Perhaps, we're misjudging him and dismissing him too early," she said. "Perhaps your mother is too. I've seen those kinds of fighting stances before. We both have. And we both can tell the difference between an amateur and someone who's been truly trained. This man is no amateur and we both know it know it. And because Raiden called him First Sergeant, I suspect he is also a soldier."

Their quieted conversation had not gone unnoticed by Brett and it wasn't until then that both women realized he'd stopped talking and was glaring at them impatiently. "You two done critiquing me?"

Both women blushed with embarrassment. "Sorry," Jade apologized.

"I must say, I find your comments rather amusing given that neither of you really know me," he said. Brett turned back to Raiden and his dad. "Getting back to the point," he said pointing towards the closed door. "In summary, I am summoned by you Mister Sparkly to this place because this Queen Sindel suspects that this Shao Craphead or whatever the hell his name is, is going to invade Edenia and use it as a stepping stone to invade Earth. Which according to Kitana here, is a flagrant violation of the supposed rules."

"Right," Masamune confirmed.

"And yet," Brett continued. "Because up until recently, Edenia was under his control for centuries you believe he'll violate the rules anyway and invade Edenia a second time."

"Correct," Masamune again confirmed.

"Well I gotta tell ya," Brett said. "I think Queen Sindel and Kitana are right. I think he is going to invade again and I'm surprised this Shao Craphead has waited this long to invade a second time," Brett stated flatly.

Their words surprised everyone else and they all looked among themselves for a moment. Kitana spoke first. "Um… begging you're pardon, but what makes you so sure about that?"

"Well to be honest, I'm not a hundred percent certain," Brett admitted. "But let's look at the fundamentals, shall we? If what I've been told is true, you guys won your independence from this Outworld place just a couple of years ago, right?"

"Correct," Kitana replied.

"And I'm willing to bet that that you all, meaning Edenia and all its people, are still in an extreme state of flux and uncertainty. All those years you lived under Shao Craphead's thumb and now you're suddenly on your own?"

Kitana rather admired the way Brett consistently referred to Shao Kahn as Shao Craphead, though she wondered if he would continue to do so if he ever met Shao Kahn face to face. She nodded, conceding the point. "There have been difficulties and challenges for all of us since we broke away. Yes."

"Well Princess," Brett said. "Now is the perfect time to attack. Now, when you all are still trying to get your act together, when you all are still trying to figure out how to live, govern, care for and protect the masses by yourselves, is when you at your weakest. He will not a find a better time to attack you than right now. And if everything you've told me about this guy is even close to accurate, he's going to exploit it as soon as possible."

"You speak with a great deal of conviction on that point," Kitana observed.

"I can only speak from my own point of view because it's what I would do if I was in this Shao Craphead's position," Brett answered. "You add all this up and it's like I said a moment ago, it's a wonder he hasn't attempted another invasion as of yet. Speaking as an outside observer, I can't help but wonder why? What's he waiting for? And while you're answering those questions, answer these as well. Has any one of you bothered to consider why this Shao Kahn would break the Elder Gods' rules in the first place or why he hasn't been punished by the Elder Gods for trying to break their rules in the past?"

Master Masamune didn't have much of an answer. "We have no idea what the whims of Shao Kahn are or why he has not been punished by the Elder Gods. However, there are several theories as to why this is so."

"Do any of those theories include the possibility that Shao Kahn is, either directly or indirectly, receiving help from the Elder Gods?"

Raiden was outraged at the suggestion. "The Elder Gods would never stand idly by and just let Shao Kahn conquer realms at his heart's desire!"

"I beg to differ with you on that point Raiden," Brett said. "Let's talk about September 11th for a second, shall we? If the supposed Elder Gods can sit back and let three thousand people die and more than double that number get hurt in a single terrorist act, they are more than capable of letting this Shao Kahn do whatever the hell he damn well pleases to whatever realm he pleases."

Masamune looked at his best student in shock. The very idea that one or more of the Elder Gods could be pulling the strings behind Shao Kahn's never ending rampage was so vile, he didn't want to even believe it was possible, much less think it. Yet even Sherlock Holmes had once said that once you eliminated all other possibilities, whatever was left had to be true.

Kitana was visibly shaken as apparently, she too had never considered the possibility. She glanced fearfully at the storm God. "Lord Raiden?"

"I…" he was almost too stunned to speak. "I cannot believe for one second that any of the Elder Gods would willingly help Shao Kahn. And even if that were true, I cannot believe that any of the other Elder Gods would willingly stand by and allow their sacred rules and edicts to be so blatantly violated. Perhaps there is flaw in the rules, some kind of a loophole that Kahn is exploiting. I shall speak with the Elder Gods and review the rules at once."

That appeared to placate Kitana, but it did no such thing for Brett. However, he didn't push the issue yet. There were way too many unknowns at this point and without solid proof of anything he wasn't going to go around throwing wild accusations. Instead he merely shrugged to Princess Kitana. "That's what I meant by Shao Kahn getting indirect help from the Elder Gods. Which brings me back to my original question, that has yet to be answered… why me? Why am I suddenly here? What does all this have to do with me and what is it that you expect from me?"

Master Masamune looked at Raiden who looked over at Jade. Jade, in turn, looked at Kitana. "He deserves to know the whole story," Kitana told her best friend. "We can't ask this of him without giving him full disclosure of our needs."

Jade nodded and addressed Brett pleasantly. "I'll be straight with you good sir, our armed forces are not that large. Which is not surprising considering that, as you more or less said, we've just gotten started returning Edenia to its former beauty and glory of centuries past. When we determined that Shao Kahn is planning another invasion, Queen Sindel asked Raiden for help. He suggested that we start looking amongst the local population for volunteers, a plan we have already begun implementing. As a result, we have had some volunteers come forward and offer their service. But their numbers are few and our needs great. So Raiden brought you to us as well though why he elected to bring only one man is a mystery to all of us."

A sinking feeling occurred to Brett. "Just how big is your military?"

Jade sighed heavily and glanced at Kitana who merely nodded. She returned to Brett. "I won't lie to you. It's small. A little over forty-five hundred, comprising of six undermanned divisions and the volunteers I spoke of. They currently number only about two hundred or so. And since they only came forward within the last few days, I'm sure you can appreciate that they are nowhere close to properly trained."

"Indeed I would most definitely assume that they need a great deal of basic training," Brett said, trying not to let on how dumbfounded he was. "And can I assume from your tone that you expect the force this Shao Craphead will launch against you is going to be larger than that?"

Jade nodded. "Many times larger I'm afraid."

He snorted and looked over at Raiden. "An army of less than five thousand and you summon a lone guy to augment it?" Brett said in amazement. "One guy? What in the world were you thinking? Why not supply her with the entire 82nd Airborne Division? Or at least the entire 75th Ranger Regiment?"

"Be reasonable Brett," Masamune implored. "Do you really think that Raiden could just bring an entire group of people that large to this place without getting somebody's attention?"

Brett ignored his master's statement and shook his head. "Are you sure you're prime mover is firing on all cylinders?" he asked Raiden. "Or that your throttle isn't stuck in idle?"

"There are quite a few who do not seem to think so, including several in this very room," Raiden admitted. "But it's as I told Queen Sindel… sometimes it is better to receive one tiger than one thousand sheep."

He gave Raiden a blank look. "What's that supposed to mean?" Brett wondered.

"You're Airborne and Ranger qualified," Raiden replied. "And you're a highly trained sniper, one of Earth's best. You're a martial arts master and a survival expert. And there are talents within you that you have yet to discover. I therefore speak with absolute certainty when I say you're among the best of the best warriors that Earthrealm has to offer."

"Is that so," Brett said with considerable sarcasm. "Did you bother to tell these people that I was Army Reserves and not Regular Army? Did you bother to tell them that I'm a railroad engineer by profession and not a soldier? That I've spent the bulk of the last twenty-four years at the throttle of a passenger train as opposed to the battlefield?"

Kitana raised her eyebrows and slowly turned to look at Raiden. "A railroad engineer Raiden?" Now she too, was starting to share her mother's sentiment that maybe Raiden had made a huge mistake in bringing this man alone to help them with their cause.

 _Translation,_ Brett thought. _No, he failed to tell them that tiny little detail._

"I am well aware of what his primary occupation is," Raiden still defended his choice. "Or rather, was. I stand by my decision regardless. And I think you'll all find in the not too distant future that even a locomotive engineer can contribute something unique to our cause."

That answer still wasn't enough for Brett. "There are a great many like me on Earth," he protested. "There are millions of martial artists and survivalists on Earth. There are men from the Special Forces, the Rangers, the Delta Force, the Marines and the Navy SEALS. There are other soldiers and snipers out there, many of them better than I am. And that's just American special operations. There are also plenty of warriors in the organizations like the British SAS, the German GSG-9 and the Russian Spetsnaz. Most of whom are on active duty and are younger than I am and perhaps even more physically fit."

Raiden sighed. "Yes there are others who are younger," he admitted. "And there are other elite soldiers. And there might even be others who you may think are stronger and more capable. And on paper, perhaps there are better snipers. And there are other martial artists and survivalists. But very few of them have all of those wonderful traits wrapped nicely and neatly in a single package the way you do. You recorded the sixth longest kill shot in recorded history, did you not? And did I not say that you're Airborne and Ranger qualified as well?"

"Yes on both counts," Brett admitted. "But I qualified because it was almost a requirement for me to do so, seeing as how I was constantly attached to Ranger units on the rare occasions that I was in the field. I didn't do that whole Ranger thing day in and day out like most of them do. Like I said, most days I was at the throttle of a P42DC, an F40PH or an FP7. I've worked on trains all my professional life."

"And yet like I said," Raiden replied. "You're still a soldier and one of Earthrealm's best."

"If that's true, we're suckin' wind," Brett joked sarcastically.

"And yet, you yourself have said there's no such thing as an ex-soldier," Raiden told him. "Merely a former soldier, am I right?'

Jade leaned towards Kitana and whispered, "Told you he was a soldier."

Kitana leaned back towards her. "Though not a very professional one, it would seem."

They were ignored by the others. "Yes," Brett admitted, a little ticked that he'd had his own words turned back on him.

"All right, let's take your argument for a moment," Raiden proposed. "Suppose I did bring the entire 82nd Airborne Division here? Or suppose I did bring the entire 75th Ranger Regiment here? Or suppose I brought all seven of the currently active Special Forces groups here? Suppose I brought an entire division's worth of troops from any army in any country you can think of? Don't you think that no matter where they come from, the governments of Earthrealm and the United States in particular, would be just a tiny bit curious as to why a whole divisions' worth of troops just suddenly disappeared off the face of the planet?

Brett conceded the point. "They might be."

"Yes indeed they would, because I can assure you they would not be disappearing in the Bermuda Triangle," Raiden insisted. "Now if I corralled all those people from the civilian population, don't you think that maybe the sheer number of missing persons reports filed in such a short time would be bound to draw somebody's attention? Like the FBI, Scotland Yard, Interpol or the ridiculous religious fanatics who would start preaching the end of the world was at hand?"

Again, Brett had to admit Raiden had a point. "Yes, it would."

"I'm glad you see it that way," Raiden said. "Yet if I brought over a small group of people. Or maybe not even a small group. Maybe I bring over… hmmm, let me see here… how about only one person. One strong, capable person. You. Even you have to admit Brett, not a lot of people are going to know that you're gone."

"Oh I don't know," Brett said. "My parents, my brothers, my sister, aunts and uncles all might be a bit curious as to where the hell I've disappeared to."

Raiden admitted he had a point. "Yes, you are probably right. And they may even file a missing person's report. But given what's happened to you in the last year or so since the accident, I think they'd be very discreet about it. The last thing they would want, as do you, would be to have your name and the entire family dragged through the headlines again. And you wouldn't want that either."

He gestured towards Masamune. "Now as for the government… they won't miss you because you are retired after all. And even if you weren't, you're just a number to them. AMRoad won't miss you despite what their CEO told you because you're just another engineer to them. Sure they protected you when you needed it which was the right thing to do, but they can always hire another engineer. So what do you plan on doing? Living out of a back pack for the rest of your life. Curling up into a little ball in your uncle's home and wishing the world would just leave you alone? Not going to happen, Brett because while others may be able to find someone else to replace you with, I cannot. Earth, Edenia and other realms need you whether you know it or not. Whether you like it or not." There was a little more to it than even just that, but Raiden was not willing to share that information with Brett or anyone else. Not at the present time anyway.

Brett nodded. "I see," he said. "So what you're saying is that because of my circumstances, I've been judged as expendable and you've picked me as a volunteer, right?"

Being expendable was actually the last thing Raiden was hinting at. True, right up until he'd arranged Brett's transport to Edenia, he'd been unsure about his decision. But in the moments before he'd done that, he'd paid Brett a visit and looked into his heart and soul. And once again, he'd experienced a vision that convinced him more than ever that not only was he making the right choice by sending only Brett, but this man… this one man he'd chosen… was absolutely critical to survival of Edenia and Earth. Not even Liu Kang or Kung Lao would have as big an impact on events yet to come as the man before them all was going to have.

He still wasn't sure about everything that was to come nor could he pick out the specifics, but he had envisioned that there were many changes on the horizon. Some people that were currently called enemies would become friends. And some that were currently friends would become enemies. Some would reach the end of their life's journey soon. And for some others, their life's journey was just getting started.

Brett put the one critical question straight to Raiden. "So why in the hell should I get involved in all this anyway? This isn't my war. No one's attacked me. No one's throwing stones at my locomotive. No one's threatening me with weapons of mass destruction. There hasn't been any genocide or ethnic cleansing. Why should I get involved?

Kitana answered frankly. "I beg to differ with you sir," she grumbled. "While it may be true that Shao Kahn and his forces have not yet attacked Earthrealm, every day that he is alive he threatens your home. And if he does attack, the weapons he will unleash on your world and your people will be like nothing you've ever seen before or could hope to defend yourselves against because over the millennia, Earthrealm has placed too much reliance on technology and distanced itself from magic and sorcery. Bottom line, Earth will fall… fast."

Jade had some thoughts of her own to add. "And as for genocide… he'll slaughter hundreds of millions just to make the planet more manageable. He's done it before."

"And what if I choose to go home anyway?" Brett wondered aloud. "Is that even a possibility or am I stuck in this place forever? Will I ever get to see where it is I come from again?"

Raiden showed Brett his disgust, but nevertheless said. "I will not lie to you Brett. You can come and go as you more or less please. It's not that easy for me to open a portal from here to Earthrealm but as you witnessed firsthand, it can be done. So in answer to your question, no you are not _stuck_ here forever."

"Before you make such a rash decision though, Brett," Master Masamune said. "I would urge you to reconsider and listen to what these people have been telling you. They're not crazy Brett and neither am I. Earth is under a tremendous threat at the moment. And that threat will come a lot sooner than you realize if we do nothing about it."

Brett massaged his throbbing head yet again. All this seemed just so utterly fantastic. Less than a day ago, he was at his uncle's house wondering what the hell he was going to do with the rest of his life. And if all this was real, then his question had been answered in the most bizarre way anyone would've thought possible. Magical realms, a tyrannical dictator hell bent on universal domination, where did it stop? And how the hell was he, a lone man, supposed to make any sort of difference in this at all?

Master Masamune made one final plea. "Brett please think this over carefully. As I said, I know this is an awful lot to take in all at once. It was for me as well when I first began my part in this crusade some years ago."

Brett looked at Master Masamune with a quizzical expression as something he'd just said got him thinking. "Uncle Yamato, just how long have you been involved in… whatever is going on here? And why didn't you ever say anything to me about it?"

"I've been involved for far longer than I'm going to admit to," Master Masamune confessed. "And I was hoping I wouldn't have to say anything to you. I didn't want you to be involved in all this. I was hoping, praying that you could live out your life being blissfully ignorant of the danger we all face. But what's done is done and Raiden wouldn't have brought you here if he didn't feel your presence was absolutely necessary. And as he said, you have talents within you that you haven't begun to unlock yet."

"What do you two mean by that?" Brett wondered.

"You'll find out as time goes on," was Raiden's only answer.

Brett was still massaging his head. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut and opened them again. Nothing had changed. He felt like he was in the middle of some bizarre and not terribly amusing dream. It was almost as if he felt that by doing something… anything… the dream would end and he'd wake up in his uncle's house, fresh off the long walk from when he'd gotten off the Golden Eagle in the middle of nowhere. But no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise, nothing changed. This was very, very real. Master Masamune, this Raiden character, Kitana, Jade, it was all real. And if they were real, then logic told them, the claims they made about this Shao Kahn and the threat he posed to Earth must be real too.

Raiden spoke again before any of them had a chance to say anything. "Listen… what you're about to embark on here is far more important than your quest for inner peace. What are you going to do? Sit around in your uncle's house until you drop dead? Go back to driving the Silver Streak or some other AMRoad train? Or maybe you actually would find a job as a police sharpshooter? What's it going to mean in the end? Hmm? The answer is nothing because you've had a hole in your heart for more than a year ever since the accident."

Kitana turned towards Brett. "That's the third time Raiden's mentioned something about an accident. What's he talking about?"

Brett ignored her as Raiden continued. "No one here is denying that what happened that day was a dreadful tragedy. No one here is denying that you were unfairly hounded by the press who were just looking for a convenient scapegoat because of the sheer magnitude of what happened. And no here denying that your ex-wife turned into a phony, lying, snobbish, arrogant little gold-digger."

Kitana and Jade were surprised. It was the first time anyone had mentioned Brett had a wife. Or more accurately, an ex-wife.

Raiden went on. "You haven't even tried to plug that hole that she and the others have left with anything. And I mean really tried. All you've been doing is just kind of wandering aimlessly through life wondering what was going to happen next. What you were going to do with the rest of your existence?" He chuckled slightly. "You know your grandmother, Aoife, used to tell you whenever you were fighting with yourself about something that you had two choices… let it devour you, or get off your ass and do something about it."

Brett glared at him hotly. "How in the hell do you know about old Evie?" he demanded, referring to what he had affectionately called his grandmother right up until she had passed away.

"As I said before, I am Raiden," he reminded Brett. "God of thunder and lightning, protector of Earthrealm and its warriors. It's my duty to know these things." He looked him square in the eye. "Whether you believe it or not, you are crucial to the survival of both Edenia and Earth. You. Not all the other clowns you've talked about whether they are younger or from other countries or whatever. You are my choice. And you may act retired or that you don't give a damn, but I know that ever since the accident you've been quietly wondering if your life means something. Well I'm telling you that it does. But in order for you to discover that, you have to be willing to open your mind to new possibilities and ways of thinking. Now you can throw it all away if you wish. But when the war that Earth cannot possibly win comes, you will have no one to blame but yourself because I am telling you with absolute certainty… you could've helped stop it before it ever came."

For several moments, Brett just glared at the storm warrior as his words sunk in. He then glanced one by one at the others and they all seemed to have an expectant look on their faces. As if whatever he decided in the next couple of minutes was going to determine whether they all lived or all died. Was it really true? If it was, how could he possibly turn away?

In the end Raiden was right. Ever since the accident, he had been more or less alone and without a purpose. His family had tried to reach out to him but in the wake of his ex's betrayal and he'd just pushed them all away. What did he have to show for it? Nothing. And he knew that if he didn't start doing something to occupy his mind and his time, rather than focusing on the accident and its aftermath, he'd go crazy. At that moment, despite having never qualified as a Green Beret himself, he recalled the Special Forces motto… De Opresso Liber… Liberate the Oppressed.

Brett looked at Raiden, then at Master Masamune, followed by Kitana and Jade. "All right," he finally relented. "Whatever this is… I'm in. But only until this Shao Craphead and his minions are stopped. After that, I promise nothing. But we'll see."

Master Masamune and Raiden both smiled. "That's all we can ask Brett," Masamune replied.

Kitana appeared to be visibly relieved. "Thank you," she said appreciatively.

"But I warn you," he said. "If I find out that this is some kind of supreme trick… God help you all."

"It's not Brett," Masamune did his best to reassure him. "I assure you of that."

"I hope so," Brett concluded. "What the next step?"

"Now we introduce you to some of the other Earthrealm fighters taking part in this cause," Masamune said. "Some of whom you already know."

A look of pure disdain appeared on Brett's face. "Why do I get the feeling the shit just hit the fan?" he asked no one in particular.

 _Realm of Outworld_

 _Shao Kahn's Fortress_

With its history going back millions of years, the realm known as Outworld was one of the most magic rich realms in the universe. Almost five times larger than Earth, it's primary landscapes consisted of barren rocky wastelands, arid deserts, lakes of acid, dense forests with animated faces and mysteriously shaped mountain peaks that would remind most Earth people of some grim, foreboding no-man's land. Some might have mistaken it for hell minus the fire and brimstone.

Originally ruled by Onaga the Dragon King, he was replaced at some point in its history by the current Emperor Shao Kahn who had ruled Outworld with an iron fist for… well no one was really sure just how long he had been Emperor. But like his predecessor, Shao Kahn shared the vision of expanding Outworld's realm by taking over other realms by force and magically merging the two realms together.

More than ten thousand years ago, after the realm of Edenia had lost ten Mortal Kombat tournaments in a row… per the rules set forth by the Elder Gods… Shao Kahn had successfully invaded and merged the realm of Edenia with Outworld and ruled it with just as much an iron fist as he did every other realm he had conquered. With that task accomplished, Shao Kahn had set his sights on the realm he considered to be the greatest prize of all.

Earthrealm.

With a population greater than every other realm under his control combined and a technological capability far exceeding that of other realms, Shao Kahn believed that with this realm and its people under his control, and its technology in his hands, he would possess the power to take over any other realm in the universe with near impunity and potentially challenge all of the Elder Gods for supremacy. It had been right in the palm of his hand and at one time Shao Kahn could've practically tasted the state of immortality.

That is until Outworld lost the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament to a young monk named Liu Kang and completely destroyed any hope Shao Kahn had of adding the Earthrealm to the Outworld for at least another five hundred years. On top of that a couple of years ago, Kitana, once the Princess of Outworld, had discovered the truth behind her lineage and freed her mother, Queen Sindel, from the mind control spell Shao Kahn had placed on her when he'd conquered Edenia. As a result, Sindel and Kitana had rebelled against him and managed to free Edenia from Outworld's control!

These setbacks in his master plans, had infuriated Shao Kahn so much that he'd taken his rage out on his own soldiers. By the time his anger had burnt itself out, more than three-fourths of his army was destroyed and he'd begun the long and arduous process of rebuilding his forces. After all, he was Shao Kahn, Emperor of Outworld and Conqueror of all realms. He wasn't about to let these "minor setbacks" stop him or his ultimate plan for universal domination.

He had an agent of his own in the Edenian ranks, so well planted no one would believe this individual was secretly working for him unless the person was directly exposed which was highly unlikely. And he had some secret help from within the circle of Elder Gods. Help that would eventually allow him to ignore the rules of the Mortal Kombat tournaments.

 _Those worthless rules are so arcane, I can't believe the Elder Gods still insist on adhering to them,_ Shao Kahn thought. _No matter. I took Edenia by force once, I can do it again. And then Raiden's precious Earthrealm will be mine. And I won't have to adhere to the pointless and petty whims of the Elder Gods._

On the top level of his gigantic fortress, Shao Kahn sat upon his throne, itself a grotesque abomination of stone and magic. The top part of it resembled a skull with wings and yellow eyes while the bottom of it was decorated with two large stone skulls canted at angles away from the throne and glowing green eye sockets. The whole thing was able to swivel so Shao Kahn could look out one of two windows that made up the crowning decoration of his fortress… a massive relief of his own war helmet.

A giant of a man by Earth and Edenian standards, Shao Kahn was nearly seven and a half feet tall and was almost never seen without his trademark warlord's helmet. Featuring a skull like design with crest at the front it had a swept rear of head and neck guard similar to an old Earthrealm samurai helmet. The rest of his attire was minimal with leather shoulder pads, forearm gauntlets and knee high boots adorned with spikes. His shorts, leather hip guards and loin cloths were held up by a pair of leather straps that crossed over his chest and were linked together with a skull medallion in the center of his chest.

He sighed heavily. Two people had entered his throne room and made their presence known to him. Good thing he'd sent for them or Shao Kahn would be mightily pissed at being disturbed like this. He spun around on his throne and addressed the slightly unwelcome visitors. "You have to something to report?" he asked.

The first one to answer was a young man with long, dark brown hair along with a Fu Manchu style mustache and beard. He wore a maroon, black and gold outfit reminiscent of an Earthrealm karate gi outfit. "Yes Emperor. You wished for the latest statistics concerning our remilitarization in preparation for our upcoming invasion of Edenia."

"Get on with it then Shang Tsung," Shao Kahn bellowed. "Are we ready to invade yet or not?"

"Not yet. It will be an additional month before we are ready Emperor Kahn," Shang Tsung claimed. He was nervous but did not let it show. If Shao Kahn even suspected Tsung was lying to him, Kahn would kill him in an instant.

"A month?" Kahn growled loudly. "I trust there is a good reason for these repeated delays?"

"There is Emperor," Shang Tsung assured him. "The Shokan warriors we have as part of our initial strike force are not yet trained up to the standard you implemented. They are close. But a few more weeks of training are necessary if they are to be fighting at peak readiness."

Kahn snorted angrily. "First that fool Goro loses to Liu Kang and assures that Earthrealm is cut off to me and now his species in general is lagging behind. Useless race! I'll be glad when they are extinct. They've been nothing more than a pain in my backside since that idiot lost the Mortal Kombat tournament and denied me my right to invade Earthrealm!"

Shang Tsung elected not to remind Shao Kahn, that he himself had been defeated by Liu Kang in a second Mortal Kombat tournament. After all, Shang Tsung was just as responsible for the loss of the first tournament, if not more so, than Goro was. "Yes Emperor," was all he said.

"Push them harder!" Shao Kahn demanded. "I am tired of delay after delay. I want Edenia back under my control as soon as possible!" He turned to the second man who had arrived with Shang Tsung. "Sorcerer, is there anything you can do to speed up the process?"

The second man who was present was bald and had pale white skin covered with a series of intricate red tattoos on his face, arms and chest. A piece of black, spike studded armor covered his left shoulder and a small amount of his upper chest. A simple set of black training pants held up by a simple belt with a gold amulet that held a green jewel in the center covered his lower body. In his right hand he held a long, gold staff with a large red jewel at the tip and simple black boots completed his outfit. "Perhaps I could give them a… magical stimulant of sorts Emperor. But I will need a few days to perfect it. If I give them too much, it will overwork and possibly kill them, thereby diminishing our forces. Not enough and it won't be effective."

"Then I suggest you get started right away sorcerer," Shao Kahn barked at the second man. "I tire of these delays! Just get it done!"

"Yes Emperor," Quan Chi said with curt bow.

"How is Skarlet doing," Shao Kahn asked. "Has she been practicing? She will lead the new invasion on Edenia. Skarlet is the key to invasion being successful. Though Mileena is competent, Skarlet is a far superior warrior. Only with her, will Mileena be able to take Kitana's place on Edenia's throne. It will then be much easier for me to remerge Edenia to Outworld. I do not wish to rely on Sindel again to legitimize my rule over Edenia as I did the first time."

Quan Chi's answer was a little hesitant. "Skarlet has been practicing Emperor."

Shao Kahn did not like the sorcerer's response. "I sense a 'but' in there somewhere sorcerer. What's the problem?"

"Well my lord, I'm not quite sure," Quan Chi confessed. "During her recent sparring sessions I have noticed a definite lapse in concentration and it is causing her to lose focus when she shouldn't be. I have asked her about this but she has given me repeated reassurances that she is fine. I however, am not convinced. Something is definitely bothering her, yet she will not say what it is."

Shao Kahn glared hotly at Shang Tsung. "Remind me again why I commissioned you to create her?"

 _You didn't commission me to do anything with Skarlet,_ Shang Tsung thought to himself. _You created her yourself, remember?_ He nevertheless spoke to Shao Kahn as if he had. No point in angering the Emperor when it wasn't necessary. "You were… concerned," he caught himself before he said 'afraid.' "Your relationship with Kitana was always tense at best and you were never sure you could trust her. You therefore, became concerned that Kitana might discover her true nature and turn against you Emperor. A truth that came to light very shortly after that. You therefore, wanted an ultimate enforcer whose loyalty to you was unwavering. A deadly weapon of last resort."

 _Oh yeah, that's right,_ Kahn thought. _I wonder if I overlooked something in her creation. Or maybe Ermac's training methods are somehow flawed. I should've trained her myself. If she can't get focused because of some unknown specter bothering her it could turn into a problem I can't control. If that happens my desire to reconquer Edenia could be in jeopardy. Perhaps I should dispose of her and start over?_

No, that wasn't a good idea. It had taken a lot to create Skarlet and train her to the point where she was now. He hadn't said anything to anyone else because he didn't want to expose weakness to potential rivals. But creating her had taken him a great deal of time and energy. If any of his rivals had known just how weak he'd been as a result, it would've been rather easy for one or more of them to usurp him. On top of that, if he just casually disposed of Skarlet and started from scratch, he'd just set his own invasion timetable back indefinitely. That would give the Raiden, Queen Sindel and the others more time prepare and perhaps even must together enough of a defensive force to repel his invasion. Then he'd never get Edenia or Earthrealm under his control. So no, disposing of and creating a new Skarlet was out of the question. And as of yet she hadn't outright failed him so maybe he was selling his finest enforcer short. Still, the fact that there might be problems with his ultimate enforcer bothered him. He had to get her back in line somehow.

Shao Kahn snorted angrily and turned back to Quan Chi. "Find out whatever is bothering her and get rid of it! As stupid as Skarlet is, she is one of my Generals. I don't need her getting sidetracked by shadows and doubts right before the invasion. Do I make myself clear sorcerer?"

 _If you any clue as to just how wrong you were about Skarlet's intelligence, you might think twice about what you just said,_ Quan Chi thought. "Of course Emperor," the sorcerer placated the rapidly angering Shao Kahn.

"And one other thing," Shao Kahn said in a slightly calmer tone. "I want you use some mind control spells on her. Make her mind more pliable. Perhaps her fragile and warped mental state is starting to show itself. After all, when you create a being from pure sorcery, sometimes there are unforeseen complications that must be dealt with."

 _We're talking about Skarlet here, not Mileena,_ Quan Chi thought. The problem with creating life from pure sorcery was that their minds tended to be a little unstable. The Emperor's near-insane daughter, Mileena, was proof of it. How that crazed, immature woman's brain managed to generate enough energy to move her legs was something that baffled Quan Chi.

Shao Kahn didn't completely trust Quan Chi and let it be known. "But I warn you sorcerer," he growled. "Try anything funny with her, try to take control of her for your own ends, and I promise you sorcerer that your death will be both slow and agonizing. Do I make myself clear?"

The Emperor needn't have worried about that specifically because Quan Chi already knew, and had for a long time, that trying to control Skarlet's mind through sorcery and spells was a waste of time. Even though it was rare, when Shao Kahn had created Skarlet, he'd made her near flawless and he hadn't even been aware of it. Still wasn't to large extent. Neither was Shang Tsung. Skarlet possessed and extremely strong and powerful mind, reflexes like a cat, enhanced senses and near superhuman strength. Quan Chi had been awestruck as to just how close to perfection Skarlet truly was.

Of course that didn't stop Quan Chi and the others from making Skarlet think she was grossly inferior to them and only worthy of serving Shao Kahn. But only Quan Chi knew the truth and it was why he'd kept what he knew about Shao Kahn's creation to himself. He'd had his own plans for Skarlet and he'd been eager to put those plans into motion, envisioning himself as the new ruler of Outworld once his plan came to fruition.

Unfortunately, Quan Chi's plan backfired on him when he discovered that Skarlet's mind was so strong, even his mind control spells had no effect on her. That had been an incredibly frustrating moment for Quan Chi, knowing that his plan wouldn't come to pass the way he'd originally envisioned. But there were still ways he could use her for his own ends. And as long as she didn't know the truth about herself, he would exploit Shao Kahn's creation to his fullest. To that end, Quan Chi had no intention of giving Skarlet any of the mind control spells that Shao Kahn ordered if only because he knew they would be a waste of time to start with. Nor did he intend to comply with any of the Emperor's wishes. Yet he feigned obedience anyway. "Perfectly Emperor."

Shao Kahn thought they were finished and turned back towards the window. His dismissal of them by turning away from them had indicated as much. It wasn't until a few moments later however, that he realized Shang Tsung and Quan Chi had not yet left his throne room. With growing agitation, he turned to face the pair again. "Was there something else?" he demanded.

"Yes Emperor," Quan Chi replied. "We've received a new message from our spy inside Queen Sindel's ranks."

The news interested Shao Kahn. "What of it?"

"Lord Raiden has brought reinforcements to Queen Sindel ," Quan Chi calmly informed the Emperor.

That was something that Shao Kahn did not want to hear. If Raiden had significantly reinforced Queen Sindel's forces, that could lead to additional delays in his invasion preparations as he factored that into the master plan. Angrily, he slammed his fist down on the armrest of his throne. "This was the last thing I needed to hear so close to our impending invasion!" he yelled. "How many!?"

Quan Chi offered his Emperor an amused grin. "Only one Emperor."

Shao Kahn blinked in disbelief. Had he heard Quan Chi right? "One? That's it? Only one man?!"

Quan Chi nodded. "Yes Emperor. Only one man."

Shao Kahn stared at the white-skinned sorcerer for a few seconds as if expecting to say "April Fool" or tell him it was some kind of dumb prank. But no such words came from Quan Chi. How could Raiden make such a disastrous miscalculation? Shao Kahn erupted in loud, maniacal laughter that echoed throughout the throne. "Only one man! How delightful! Bah, I thought you were going to tell me something important!"

"Emperor, you asked to be informed any time our agent made a report," Quan Chi reminded him. "I am merely following your instructions."

"So I did," Shao Kahn laughed. "You've done well sorcerer but in the future make sure the report is worthy of my ears." He turned his throne back towards the window and casually waved his hand at the pair. "Begone, both of you. You are dismissed with my gratitude."

It was the usual kind of sendoff Shao Kahn allowed his subjects to have when he wasn't pissed at them or in a general bad mood… which was more often than not. Shang Tsung and Quan Chi both silently bowed and made their exit. As they did, Kahn stared out the window at the depressing reality of Outworld and contemplated Quan Chi's message. "One warrior," he mused to himself. "Only one. Earthrealm must be far weaker than I originally thought if Raiden can only find a single, solitary man to augment Queen Sindel's forces. Perhaps I won't need all the forces I thought I would."

 _Shao Kahn's Palace – The Dungeons_

Skarlet raised her arms above her head so the Tarkatan guard in front of her could relock her in her shackles. She winced a little from the pain as he did so. This particular guard apparently did not know how to be gentle. Either that or he didn't care. He was young for a Tarkatan, the sharp, pointy teeth in his twisted, perpetual smile not yet showing signs of damage or yellowing.

With a snort the guard left, locking the cell door behind him and leaving Skarlet alone with her thoughts. Twice per day she was allowed to be free of her shackles for two hours so she could use the restroom and train. And she got an additional twenty minutes free of her shackles around midday solely for restroom usage or, every third day, a chance to bathe. Meals however, were fed to her by one of the guards at the appointed meal times.

Speaking of which, the guard was due to bring her evening meal to her any minute. Her rumbling stomach reminded her of it. While she waited for the guard to arrive with her food, she thought about her training sessions this day. They had not gone well at all and she was glad Shao Kahn hadn't been watching her, as if that really made a difference. Even when he was pleased with her, it only meant he didn't berate her in any way or have some comment for her during her practice sessions. Usually when he did they were rather harsh and judgmental.

Today though, her mind had not been on her practice and it showed. She'd been matched against another of Shao Kahn's generals, Ermac. A psychokinetic warrior comprised of multiple warrior souls, Ermac had been Skarlet's primary teacher and sparring partner in the art of combat since she was created a little over two years earlier. His outfit was comprised of a black with red accents assassin uniform and strips of cloth covering various points of his face. The skin of which was so tight and drawn, he almost looked like a mummy. His eyes glowed and ethereal green and he was known for using telekinetic abilities and highly destructive balls of green energy as part of his fighting regimen.

Skarlet had looked up to Ermac as a warrior and mentor for quite a long time and he'd seemed to take a special interest in how her training had progressed. Little had Skarlet known at the time what his true motivations had been. After one particular sparring session, Ermac had made his move, trying to force himself on her and partake in the pleasures of her flesh. At the time she'd ben unfamiliar with physical relationships that people sometimes shared. Although a part of her mind said his touches against her skin felt good, another, more dominant part, said it wasn't what she wanted from Ermac. Ever.

She'd tried to push him away but when Ermac persisted, a little more forcefully, Skarlet responded in a way Ermac never expected. Twisting away from him, Skarlet got behind the psychokinetic warrior and was able to slam him down on the floor hard. With one of her kodachi held against his throat, she warned him that if he valued his life, touching her again would most definitely NOT be in his best interest. He'd gotten the message, but their relationship had soured after that. Come to think of it, it wasn't long after that incident that Emperor Kahn decreed she was too dangerous to roam free and ordered her to be chained up unless she was training or carrying out his wishes. Hmmmm. Maybe Ermac had something to do with that.

He still seemed to be obsessed with her though as he often said he could get Shao Kahn to change his mind about her if she'd just accept him and what he wanted from her. Skarlet rebuffed him every time thinking it would be a cold day in the Netherrealm before she allowed him to get that close to her. Not after the stunt he'd tried to pull the first time. She often found herself wanting to vomit every time she thought of Ermac. His behavior infuriated Skarlet so much, she wanted to sink one of her kodachi swords deep into his flesh, yank it out and lick his blood from the blade. Then maybe she'd rip his head off.

She was normally able to hold her own against him, especially when he didn't use his psychokinetic abilities. But this particular day she'd lost her sparring match to Ermac and it was frustrating her to no end. She was Shao Kahn's top enforcer. How could she have lost to a disgusting slimeball like Ermac?

The same guard who had relocked her returned at that moment with bowl of gruel for her that contained some chunks of meat. It was what was often presented to her for her meal and as usual it wasn't particularly warm, nor was it particularly tasty. It also lacked blood, something that Skarlet craved as a result of her creation. Oh well, at least it was sustenance… even if she did have to be fed by the guard.

Despite his ever sinister looking grin, Skarlet could tell from him mumbling that the guard wanted to be anywhere other than where he was right now, feeding her. Truth be told, should would've preferred to feed herself and not have to endure this humiliation. He offered no attempt at conversation with her. All he did was methodically shove a spoonful of gruel into her mouth, barely giving her enough time to chew and swallow the mouthful before shoving another spoonful in her face. It was a little uncomfortable actually and she was about to tell him to stop. She never got the chance though as he shoved the last mouthful in and waited an impatient few seconds before roughly wiping her mouth with a rag. A disgusted grunt later, he was gone, the door to her cell relocking behind him.

After the door slammed shut, Skarlet thought more about the match she'd lost to Ermac. She knew why she'd lost to him, though she hadn't wanted to admit it at first. All during their match, her mind had been preoccupied by that mysterious man who plagued her dreams. Even now she couldn't stop thinking about him, whoever he was. As much as she didn't want to admit it, he kind of fascinated her. And it begged the question, who was he? Why did he curse her dreams almost constantly? And what was that strange metal behemoth that he seemed to have a connection with?

She recalled with almost frightening clarity just how her dreams had taken a whole new dimension the previous night. For the first time since she'd begun having them, she'd finally been able to see the mysterious man's face. She'd only seen it for a split second, but that had been more than long enough for it to be permanently burned into her memory.

What had surprised her most was that he'd held out his hand and spoken to her. "I need your help. I need you." That was all he'd said to her and he'd said it only once. Help? How could she help him? What did he want with her? This man who continually plagued her dreams was really starting to get on her nerves. And yet, there was something oddly calming about him and the way he spoke to her.

She struggled against her chains, fearing she might be going mad. "Why," she whispered. "Why me? Who are you? Why do you torture me? Why do you do this to me?" For months now these recurring dreams disturbed her and yet, she hadn't told anyone about them. Not Emperor Kahn, not Shang Tsung, not Quan Chi… no one.

Why? Everything in her was screaming at her to tell them all about what was bothering her. Hell as a result of their last sparring match, Ermac could plainly see that she wasn't displaying the usual skill she was known for. And if he'd picked up on it, Skarlet was sure he wasn't the only one. Would that motivate Ermac to try and force himself on her again? Even if it didn't, Skarlet was positive it would just be a matter of time before others started asking questions. Others like Emperor Kahn, Shang Tsung or Quan Chi. She didn't know how long she'd be able to keep her dreams secret if that happened.

But why was she so hesitant to talk about them in the first place? Keeping her mouth closed about it made no sense. And yet there was something about her dreams, something just beyond the edge of her perceptions, of her understanding, that was holding her back. No matter how hard she tried, Skarlet couldn't shake the feeling that if she talked about her dreams in any way to anyone… even the Emperor… that she would somehow be cursing herself. What kind of a curse that was, she had no idea. But the feeling was there and it would not go away no matter how much she willed it to.

For a while now, Skarlet had wondered if the man who beset her dreams was real or a symbol of something else about to occur in her life. But after seeing and hearing his voice in her dreams last night she was convinced that this man, whoever he was, was not a figment of her imagination or a symbol of anything. He was real, a person of flesh and blood. And if that was true, she knew they would meet soon.

Skarlet wanted to meet him; wanted to fight him and beat him. She wanted to taste his blood so that maybe she could finally understand why he seemed to have this kind of hold over her. It was the only way. So why then did she feel strange whenever she imagined herself tasting the blood of whoever this mysterious stranger was? Like she'd be hurting or ever destroying a piece of herself if she did?

 _Utus potestatem, per pestem nec per aliquod…_

Skarlet had so many questions, no answers and was almost desperate to get the answers she sought. It frustrated her to no end because something deep in her psyche told her that whoever this unknown man was, he would play a significant role in her life in the future. What the role was going to be, she had no idea. But she just couldn't shake the feeling that this unknown man was going to be more than just another opponent to her. More than just another who's blood she could taste.

 _Adunare et_ _mittere_ _ad_ _infernum_ _damnatorum_ _…_

"Who are you," she wondered again. In a moment of incredible frustration and despair, she thrashed against the chains that bound her. "WHO ARE YOU?!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, though no one else heard her.

Those same questions kept repeating themselves in her mind as fatigue overcame her and she drifted off to sleep. Immediately she was plagued by her ever-recurring dream yet again.

 _Sed v_ _errat_ _rotas_ _argentea_ _s!_

 _Realm of Edenia, The Royal Palace_

 _Near the Palace War Room_

"Couldn't you have found something better for me to wear?" Brett complained as he tugged at his collar. It itched like hell and was driving him crazy. He rolled his eyes. Surely these people could've done something more to make him feel a little more at ease about this whole thing?

Brett was now dressed in the simple garb of traditional Edenian Knights that weren't on duty which actually wasn't much different than that of an Earthrealm karate gi. His sleeveless tunic was charcoal gray in color with gold trim along the outer edges and shoulders that accented his short, blonde hair. Separate similarly colored gauntlets provided protection for his forearms. A long flap of fabric hung down in the back of the tunic forming a rear-only loincloth and a wide black belt was wrapped around his waist. A simple gold locking ring held the belt in place and a gold hawk's head was embroidered on the back of the tunic. The pants were simple and charcoal gray in color with a gold stripe running down the side of each leg and disappearing beneath the top of the knee high boots he now wore.

"Oh stop it," Masamune lectured him. "It's not that bad, is it?"

"That depends on whether or not you don't mind having a rash around your neck," Brett said as he tugged at the collar some more. "Why do these damn things itch so friggin' much?"

"Never mind," Masamune growled. "Just come on. You can be a part of this meeting Queen Sindel is having."

"All right, all right," Brett gave in and let Masamune lead him to the Palace War Room. Before they even opened the door, Brett could hear several voices inside. Queen Sindel was going over the latest intelligence reports from her spies with a few people who Brett had met already like Kitana and Jade and several he hadn't. For a split second he thought about reconsidering his decision to stick around but promptly dismissed it. Like Raiden had said, what the heck was he going to do back at his uncle's house anyway?

Masamune quietly cleared his throat as the two of them entered and immediately all eyes turned toward them. "Warriors of Earth and Edenia," he said. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you all the new warrior Raiden has brought to us." With a grand sweep of her hand, she announced them by name. "My finest pupil, Brett "Maverick" Hudson."

He offered the group a sheepish grin and a polite sort of bow. "I, uh… good day everyone," he said, stumbling over his words. "Umm… forgive me if I seem a little out of it. But I was pretty much shanghaied into this whole thing and I'm still trying to get my bearings here."

He never saw Masamune roll his eyes at the word "shanghaied."

The first person to step towards him was a tall, tanned woman wearing a yellow and black jumpsuit similar to a one piece swimsuit and a matching sarong. She offered her hand in greeting. "Brett did you say?"

He accepted the handshake. "Yes, that's right."

"I am Tanya," the woman said in what sounded to Brett like a refined British accent. "Colonel in the Edenian Knights and daughter of one of Edenia's highest ambassadors. On behalf of all of Edenia, welcome."

"Thank you Tanya," Brett replied.

The next person to approach him was a dark-skinned male whose outfit was similar to Brett's in design but colored black with yellow trim and a yellow headband. He had dark eyes, a neatly trimmed goatee and a reasonably well kept dreadlock hair style. Like Tanya, he offered his hand, but he spoke in a clear African accent. "Good sir, I am Cyrax," he said. "A member of the Lin Kuei ninja clan." He gestured towards the others. "May I present my other Lin Kuei comrades, Sub Zero and Smoke."

Brett didn't bother to ask why they were known by the names they were. He figured some things were just left better unsaid. Besides, he was still trying to figure out why he, a locomotive engineer by trade, belonged side by side with three members of a ninja clan. "Gentlemen,' he said. "It's an honor to meet you," Brett replied with a slight degree of uncertainty.

Sub-Zero spoke for them. "Likewise Brett."

"And welcome to our little band of freedom fighters," Cyrax insisted.

Smoke remained silent for the time being but nodded pleasantly in Brett's direction.

Next up was a woman with what seemed to be a mix of Asian and Caucasian races, scantily clad in purple and mauve. She had long, jet-black hair, hazel colored eyes and her hips swayed rather seductively when she walked. Brett wasn't sure if that was intentional or not, but it definitely got his attention. "I'm Li Mei," she said pleasantly. "Defector from Outworld." She flashed him a brilliant smile and a alluring gleam appeared in her eye. "It's a pleasure to meet you… Maverick did he say?"

"Yes, that's right," Brett said.

"I like that nickname," Li Mei purred. "It gives you a sense of power and mystery." She smiled at him again. "Well, like the others have said, welcome to Edenia. If you get lost or need help finding your way around, just let me know." She batted her eyes at him. "I'd be more than happy to show you around."

 _I wonder if by "show me around" you mean show me around your bedroom,_ Brett thought. "I um… I'll think about that Li Mei," he said. "Thank you."

"Well don't think too long big guy," she cooed, lightly tracing her finger over his chest and shivering slightly at the feel. "I don't like to wait."

 _No, I bet you don't,_ Brett thought.

As Li Mei walked away, Masamune and Jade both rolled their eyes, Kitana made a gesture that looked like vomiting and Cyrax just massaged the bridge of his nose. Li Mei was an outrageous flirt and it was clear to everyone that she was already staking her claim to this newcomer before anyone else had a chance to. Brett just shook his head. Maybe if he wasn't still reeling in shock from everything that had happened over the last few hours, he might be a little more receptive to Li Mei's advances. She was pretty after all. He wouldn't deny it.

Before any more could be said or done, an Asian man wearing red training pants and a red headband stepped forward offering his hand. "Brett," he said. "I'm Liu Kang. Shaolin monk"

 _Ah, so this is Liu Kang,_ Brett thought as he accepted Liu's gesture. _The one who defeated Shao Kahn in the past. He should've destroyed him. Wonder why he didn't._ Brett nodded once. "Heard a lot about you Liu Kang," he said.

"All of it bad, I'm sure," Liu Kang joked. "Welcome to our little "tribe" of sorts."

"Thank you," Brett replied. "Though to be honest, I still don't quite know why I'm here, what you all expect from me or how I can truly be of any help. I've got a lot of questions and not very many answers."

"Well hopefully the answers you seek will come in time," Liu said cryptically. He gestured towards two other Asian men, one wearing a black tunic and a wide-brimmed hat, the other wearing black training pants with a wine-red cloth belt and identically colored shoulder sash. "May I introduce fellow Shaolin monks, Kung Lao and Kai?"

"Gentlemen," Brett said.

Kai nodded to him and Kung Lao said, "Welcome Brett."

"Thank you," Brett said. "I still don't completely understand why I'm here, but thank you."

The next person to greet him was a young woman with long black hair similar to Li Mei's, but this lady had a white streak in front. Her outfit consisted of a black with dark red trim bikini-style top with dark red choker that left what some might call an exceedingly generous amount of her skin from her neck to her hips exposed. The bottom portion was little more than a black thong with two small black with red trim loincloths to maintain her modesty… if modesty was such a thing that could be said about the outfit. A pair each of black and red arm gauntlets and thigh-high boots completed the outfit.

The woman's most intriguing feature though, was her tattoos. She had four of them, each one black in color. On each of her shoulders was a symbol of some kind that resembled two downward curving spikes with a simple dot in between. Brett wondered if it was some kind of a signature or other identifying mark as the same symbol was embroidered in red on both of her loincloths. The other two tattoos were on her face and were mirror images of each other. They started at a point on the sides of her forehead and curved down and inward before framing a portion of her aqua colored eyes. They then curved down and in again before forming points that were parallel with the bottom of her nose.

"Brett," she said. "I'm Sareena. It's an honor to meet you good sir." She gestured towards another woman nearby. "My sister, Ashrah."

Ashrah was more modestly dressed than Sareena, wearing a dress of sorts of white with golden yellow trim. It had a plunging neckline that came down to just below her breasts and the skirt portion was short enough that it left a significant portion of her thighs exposed, yet she still exposed less skin than her sister. A gold cloth belt accentuated the short dress and a white with gold trim robe covered her shoulders, partially covered her arms as well as the back side of her thighs. Knee high white boots with a gold cloth band wrapped several times around them completed the outfit. Her chestnut brown hair was well kept and a portion of it had been tied around a large golden ring, creating a tail of sorts.

She smiled pleasantly at Brett. "A pleasure Brett," she said in a dignified tone.

Brett bowed slightly to them both. "Ladies," he said.

Yet another woman approached Brett, with long blonde hair tied back in a tail and she wore a black tactical vest with dark green pants. He was a little surprised to see she had a rather snug grin on her face. "Brett Maverick, hm?" she asked with a hint of sarcasm. "Wouldn't happen to be from Texas, would you?"

"Born and raised in Fort Stockton as a matter of fact," Brett replied.

The woman laughed and made a gesture with both hands. "Now I've seen everything."

"Yeah, that nickname has been following me ever since I was a kid," Brett confessed. "Have we met before ma'am?"

She shook her head. "I seriously doubt it. But with the whole Brett and Maverick thing going on, I had to ask. Especially since I'm from Austin myself."

Some of the others looked at one another, wondering what was so significant about Brett and Maverick.

Brett smirked at the blonde woman. "Hope you're keeping it weird," he said in reference to one of Austin's mottos.

She laughed. "As weird as I can, that's for sure." She extended her hand. "Lieutenant Sonya Blade," she introduced. "U.S. Army Special Forces. Welcome Brett."

He accepted the handshake. From his time in the military, Brett had heard of Sonya Blade before. She was the first, and thus far only, woman to have been accepted into, and passed, the U.S. Army's Special Forces Qualification Course. It had been huge news back when she'd first applied and had battled the Department of Defense to accept her application. After months of legal arguing, the DOD finally gave in, expecting that Sonya would wash out within a week or so. But surprisingly, she hadn't and a year later was awarded her Special Forces tab, forever silencing the critics.

Brett wasn't sure how he felt about the whole situation. He generally didn't have a problem with women serving in combat if that's what they truly wanted. However, he wondered if Sonya had pursued her chance to go through the Special Forces Q course more as a matter of pride and making a statement than for the honor of being awarded the tab at the end. Oh well. He supposed it didn't make much of a difference one way or the other so long as she did her job. "Thank you Sonya," he replied.

Someone near the back of the room cleared their throat and immediately Brett knew who it was. He'd recognized the man and the two others standing near him the minute he'd entered. They'd recognized him too and the looks on their faces said they were not only surprised, but perhaps not altogether pleased to see him. Brett didn't care.

Brett nodded in the man's direction. "Jax," he said quietly.

Jax returned the curt nod. "Sergeant," he responded.

Brett looked at those standing beside him. "And look who else the cat dragged in here… Kurt Stryker and John Carlton."

"Hudson," Stryker stiffly greeted.

"It's Johnny Cage now," Cage stated flatly.

"Oh, oh, oh, okay," Brett taunted. "Johnny Cage then. Have it your way mister Big Shot Celebrity."

Johnny's face tightened in anger. "Why you…"

Brett ignored him and turned to Raiden. "Well now Mister Sparky, if I wasn't certain I'd died and gone to hell an hour ago, I'm damn sure convinced I've done exactly that now. I thought I'd seen the last of these three in Afghanistan. But nope! Here they are again!" He massaged his temples. "Now I understand why I thought the shit had hit the fan earlier."

Before the obvious tension in the room could explode, Kitana intervened. "You four obviously know one another."

"Not by choice, but yes," Brett said. "Last time I saw these three, I told them that I hoped I never saw them again."

"No that's not what you said," Johnny challenged.

"Oh yeah you're right," Brett admitted. "What I did say was that if I ever saw your three stupid asses again it would take all of my inner strength not to put a bullet in your heads."

Stryker glared at Johnny. "You just had to egg him on, didn't you?"

The others in the room were starting to get interested in whatever past existed between the newcomer, Brett and the others they'd known for a while. Apparently that past history wasn't a particularly good one. "What happened?" Sonya asked.

"In the grand scheme of things, it's not important," Brett insisted. "Whatever happened is between the four of us."

Sindel moved to get them back on track. "And perhaps if there is to be a discussion or otherwise about whatever may have taken place in the past, it can be after this meeting?"

Brett nodded in agreement. "Of course, though I don't k now what I can personally offer to this meeting." He took a deep breath and slowly let it out, bowing to her. "And um, Your Majesty Queen Sindel, please forgive my moment of short sightedness when I called you Queenie earlier. I have no excuse and I humbly offer my apologies."

Despite the fact that Sindel still thought Raiden had lost his mind by offering up only one additional warrior, she did trust him in the end and was willing to give the newcomer, Brett Hudson, a chance… for the moment anyway. She smiled at him. "Of course," she said. "Your apology is both accepted and appreciated. You have been through quite a lot in a very short amount of time so a period of… adjustment is to be expected."

"I appreciate your kindness Your Majesty," Brett replied, still not quite believing he was actually addressing a queen. Everything was happening so fast, he still wondered if this was all still a dream and if he would wake up any moment now.

"Well, if introductions are over now, may I return to the reason why this meeting was called?" Sindel asked.

"Of course," Brett said politely.

"Forgive me You Majesty," Masamune added. "I… we… did not mean to interrupt you."

"Oh that's all right," Sindel said, letting the matter drop. "Brett would've had to meet everyone sooner or later. And there are still others not present here he'll hopefully meet sometime in the not too distant future. Now as I was saying…"

While Sindel began speaking again, Liu Kang pulled Raiden aside. "Are you sure about this? Only one more person to help defend Edenia and Earthrealm?"

"I asked Queen Sindel to trust my judgment," Raiden said. "Now I ask you to do the same. He along with all those already chosen are all Edenia and Earthrealm will need to ensure Shao Kahn and his minions are not successful and that both realms, along with many others are freed forever of Outworld's grip."

"I do not share your optimism," Liu Kang revealed.

Raiden didn't much care if Liu Kang didn't share it or not. "What? Are you afraid that you'll be one-upped by this new warrior I have selected?"

"Not in the least," Liu Kang flatly stated. "I defeated Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn, not him. I am Earthrealm's champion."

Raiden glared at the young Shaolin monk. That was a little presumptuous of him. Did he really think that he was the only one who could possibly be Earthrealm's champion? Still, he decided it best not to antagonize Liu Kang at the moment. "Just take it easy Liu Kang. No one's trying to take away your throne here," he joked. He then took a step back and eyed him with a little suspicion. "Or maybe you're just afraid someone's trying to steal your girl?"

"Princess Kitana is not my girl," Liu Kang growled angrily. "I don't have time for such petty things as romance and relationships. Such things are beneath me."

 _That's what I'm afraid of,_ Raiden thought.

 _Realm of Outworld_

 _En Route to Shang Tsung's Palace_

Aside from sorcery, the Dragonfly was the fastest form of transportation on Outworld. There were literally thousands of them across the planet and they were used by commuters of all the realm's denizens as they got from one place to another. As each one had its own specific set of destinations, frequently commuters would need to use more than one of these apparatuses to get from one place to another.

Its centerpiece was a circular wooden platform of varying sizes depending on how many people it carried on an average trip. A pair of large wings extended outward from the sides of each platform and two large tailfins provided stability during flight. All four pieces were made of a magically treated wood frame and wrapped in the similarly treated skin of some long-extinct species of animal. At the front of each platform was a large dragon's head and neck made from solid bronze and infused with sorcery which gave the eyes an eerie yellow glow.

Although most Dragonflies were "piloted" by a mildly skilled sorcerer, Shang Tsung had constructed a private one for himself and a small entourage many millennia ago. And it was this that he now piloted across the vast expanse of Outworld towards his palace. The only other person along for this particular ride however, was Quan Chi. "Are you sure about this?" Shang Tsung wanted to make sure what Quan Chi had told him a few weeks ago was accurate. "Are you absolutely certain of this?"

"I am," was Quan Chi's reply.

"If Shao Kahn were to know what we were plotting or what we have failed to tell him, then I can assure you our deaths will be quick but far from painless." Shang Tsung sounded a little concerned.

"Do not concern yourself over this my friend," Quan Chi assured him. "The vision I have seen is accurate and Shao Kahn has done exactly what I expected him to do. He has dismissed my news of Queen Sindel's new warrior." He groaned quietly. He couldn't believe he'd just called Shang Tsung 'friend'.

"But are you absolutely sure about him?" Shang Tsung wanted to know. "Surely one single man can't make as big a difference as that in such a short time?"

"Don't forget you once felt the same way about Liu Kang," Quan Chi reminded him.

 _Thanks a lot Pasty,_ Shang Tsung thought. _I did not need to be reminded of that!_

"The power of one can be far more significant than anyone ever expects, Shang Tsung," Quan Chi went on. "How do you think rebellions and revolutions get started?"

"I'm well aware of that," Shang Tusng growled. He smirked to himself. "You should know that as well after losing control of Queen Sindel." _Take that you ghostly bastard._

Quan Chi did not need to be reminded of his failure either but he elected to let it go for the time being. No sense wasting energy on Shang Tsung when others could do it for him. "Have faith Shang Tsung. Shao Kahn will be dead in perhaps a week, perhaps a month, but no longer than that. And he will be brought down largely by his own arrogance. Then we will be free to bring Outworld and all other realms under our control as we please."

If he'd had a clear idea of the political leanings and undercover alliances within the Outworld Army's own ranks, he might've elected not to make that last statement.

"What about Skarlet?" Shang Tsung demanded. "Did you administer the mind control spells to make her more pliable to Kahn's wishes?"

"Of course not," Quan Chi stated flatly. "And I have zero intention of doing so."

Shang Tsung was stunned to hear this revelation. "You… you haven't?!" he said in disbelief. "Have you gone mad? Skarlet is one of the Emperor's most cunning warriors! She needs to be kept under our control!"

Quan Chi wasn't about to tell Shang Tsung that he knew such a course of action was useless. He'd have to tip his hat as to just how powerful Skarlet truly was in that instance and he wasn't going to share that information with anyone. "You forget the power of mere suggestion Shang Tsung," Quan Chi replied. "Skarlet may be a powerful warrior but as you well know, despite her appearance, she is very young and therefore, quite impressionable. In fact I would go so far as to say she is little more than a mindless drone. I have been able to keep control of Skarlet for quite some time with the power of suggestion alone. She has been quite compliant all that time, at least to my satisfaction. Why would I waste my magical energies on her to keep her in check when the power of words alone can do it?"

"By not ensuring that she is totally under our control sorcerer, you're playing with fire" Shang Tsung warned. "What do you think would happen were she to suddenly become self-aware? How do you know she's not self-aware already?"

Quan Chi dismissed Shang Tsung's concerns. "As I said, she is an impressionable, mindless drone. Nothing more."

Shang Tsung was amazed. In all the time he'd known Quan Chi, which was far longer than he wanted to acknowledge, he'd never known him to be this careless. A sneaking feeling came to him. There was something else going on here, something Quan Chi wasn't telling him. And he doubted Quan Chi would. Therefore, Shang Tsung would have to find out for himself what it was. So as not to make Quan Chi suspicious however, Shang Tsung continued to press his point. "If she were to become self-aware, she would be a valuable asset if she sided with us once Kahn is out of the picture," Shang Tsung pointed out.

"Perhaps," Quan Chi admitted. "But that will never come to pass. Skarlet is so devoted to Shao Kahn that it practically blinds her to everything else around her. When he falls, she will fall soon after. Pity really. She was one of the Emperor's finest creations and had the potential to become one of the greatest warriors of all time. Yet I have no problem whatsoever of casting her aside in order for us to achieve our own goals." He was lying through his teeth about this as he had every intention of making Skarlet his own servant once Shao Kahn was out of the way.

Shang Tsung knew he was lying too, but decided not to pursue it. Not until he knew what Quan Chi's motivations and plans were anyway. And just what the hell did Skarlet have to do with those plans. He seriously doubted with as strong as she was, Quan Chi would truly just cast her aside. And there was another alarming thing Shang Tsung realized that he was certain Quan Chi hadn't. "Oh really?" he challenged the white skinned sorcerer. "Did you ever consider the possibility that she might, however improbable it may seem, side with the Earthrealmers once Shao Kahn's been taken out?"

Quan Chi thought the suggestion so bizarre and ludicrous, he actually started laughing from amusement. "Are you kidding me? Skarlet? Emperor Kahn's blood warrior? Side with the Earthrealmers? Bah! Don't be absurd Shang Tsung. Do you really think Kitana is going to welcome her to her side with open arms? That has as much likelihood of happening as me siding with the Earthrealmers does."

Had he known just how wrong Quan Chi was with that statement, Shang Tsung might've killed the bald sorcerer right then and there. _So much for that,_ Shang Tsung thought. He neglected to tell Quan Chi that by not warning Shao Kahn of the real threat this new Earthrealmer posed and by not magically controlling Skarlet's mind they were, in fact, siding with the Earthrealmers… to a point. And there was zero point in discussing that with Quan Chi. No doubt he'd come up with a thousand arguments and platitudes as to why they weren't, none of which Shang Tsung would be inclined to believe or even listen to. Instead, he merely warned Quan Chi. "You'd better be right about this," he declared. "Or my vengeance against you Quan Chi will be swift and excruciating."

Quan Chi merely smiled. "Like I said, do not concern yourself over this my friend." His smile couldn't have been more false as he had purposely neglected to tell Shang Tsung the second part of his vision; the part where he saw Shang Tsung also meeting his final fate at the hands of this same new warrior. Admittedly that was a few months or perhaps as much a year in the future. But it was already foretold. In order to gain total control of Outworld and his own twisted home, the Netherrealm, Quan Chi was going to have to continue to put up with Shang Tsung, his lavishness and his insults… for a little while longer anyway.


	3. One or a Thousand: Chapter 3

**One or a Thousand, Chapter 3**

 _Realm of Edenia, the Royal Palace_

 _Brett's Guest Room_

Brett's first night on Edenia could've gone a lot better. His mind was still too engrossed in wrapping itself around everything that had transpired in just the last day for it to rest properly. Princesses, Outworlds, Mortal Kombat tournaments and to top it all off, three guys he'd known from his days in combat. Three guys he would've much rather forgotten all about.

As a result of all this stress and turmoil, he really couldn't sleep and when he did, it was broken and not the least bit restful. Not that the accommodations were bad. In fact, compared to what he was used to on Earth… which was by no means terrible… the lodgings he'd been given by Queen Sindel were downright palatial. Little surprise there since he actually was in a palace. Had it been under any other set of circumstances, he would've appreciated his immediate surroundings with a lot more gratitude. As such though, he barely saw them.

A part of him still hoped that this was all some wild, and not particularly amusing, dream. That he would suddenly wake up and all of this would be gone. There was no Outworld, no Mortal Kombat tournaments, no Shao Kahn no Princess Kitana… no nothing related to any of this utter insanity he'd learned in last several hours. He'd just wake up and discover he was sleeping soundly in his uncle's house alone like he'd wanted to do after taking his shower.

No such luck though. After waking up for the fifth time in three hours and still finding himself in the Edenian Royal Palace, Brett gave up hoping that this was still some kind of dream he'd wake up from soon. Looking at the clock, he decided that if he was going to get any sleep, a little bit of a mind and body relaxer was in order. While in most cases he might be tempted to relax through meditation, after all that had happened this was one of those times where he needed something just a little bit stronger.

Given how late it was, Brett didn't bother to put on any clothes, electing to wander the palace halls wearing only his boxer shorts, searching for the bar he was certain was somewhere in the palace. He passed numerous guards either standing stoically at a guard post or wandering a roving patrol. He asked a couple of them where he might be able to find a drink in the palace, but none of them bothered to answer him. He didn't know if that was because of his lack of clothing or if they just ignored everyone that spoke to them.

He gave up on that, content to try and find a liquor cabinet or bar on his own. But fifteen minutes later, he still hadn't found anything. He was about to say, "the hell with it" and return to his room. He didn't want a drink this badly. But he decided to try a couple more places. Rounding a corner and opening a door, he found himself in a place called the Crystal Room, a study of sorts that was decorated with numerous objects made from the finest crystal on Edenia.

Tanya was in the room seated at the desk. She looked up at the sudden interruption and gaped in surprise. She was reading something with a lot of bizarre symbols on it that made no sense to Brett and apparently she hadn't expected anyone to disturb her. Brett guessed she was shocked by his appearance. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't expect anyone to be in here."

Tanya ran her eyes up and down his body, silently appreciating the way he kept himself in shape. "No," she agreed. "I dare say you weren't."

 _That's my cue to exit,_ he thought. "I'll be on my way," he said. "Again, I apologize for the intrusion."

Tanya stopped him just as the door was about to close. "Wait Brett," she called.

He opened the door a bit and poked his head through. "Hmm?"

"You're obviously not up this late without a reason," Tanya correctly guessed. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Oh I don't know," Brett replied. He sighed heavily. "I was just looking for a drink."

Tanya smiled and sat up, leaning her elbows on the desk. "Would that be normal drink or a strong drink," she asked with a knowing grin.

"A strong drink," Brett answered.

Tanya laughed. "I thought so," she said getting up from the desk and motioning for him to follow her. "Come on. I know where they keep the 'juice' around here." Brett followed after her as she continued to make small talk. "So you're from Fort Stockton, Texas hmm? Can't say I've ever heard of it. What's it like there?"

"Very dry, arid and extremely hot in the summertime," Brett confessed. "You can always tell when there's a sandstorm coming because the rattlesnakes out in the scrub brush will start sneezing."

It was a joke of course and they both knew it. Tanya gave him a peculiar look and they both started laughing. "Really?" she asked with mild sarcasm. "Is that the only place you've lived on Earthrealm or have you lived other places?"

"I lived in Chicago, Illinois for most of my adult life," he said. "That's about as much a polar opposite from Fort Stockton as you can get."

"Hmmm," Tanya said. "Never heard of Chicago either. Is it a big place?"

"Yeah," he answered. "About ten million living in the city and surrounding areas."

Tanya whistled in disbelief. "Wow," she said. "That's almost ten times the entire population of Edenia. Earthrealm must be a big place."

Brett shrugged. "Perhaps, but I'm not sure what I can compare it to. After all, less than a day ago I didn't know life existed on any planet other than Earth."

Tanya snickered. "Yes of course. Pardon my short sightedness." She led him to one of the palace's numerous dining rooms. This one was rather informal, capable of seating only about eight individuals and it sported a full bar on one end. Tanya made her way behind it and gestured for Brett to sit and make himself comfortable.

He did so and waited patiently as Tanya searched the various bottles of what he assumed were liquor. She eventually selected one that contained a semi-dark transparent red liquid. Pouring a bit of it into a shot glass, she passed it to him. "Here you are. Our finest local product."

Brett accepted it and downed it in one gulp. "Oooooh," he said as the liquid burned his throat. It tasted like charred carrots and hot peppers and was followed with the ever so slight cooling sweetness of fruit; all against the ever present backdrop of what seemed like burnt coal.

"What do you think?" Tanya asked him.

"Smooth," Brett grunted. He passed the glass back to her. "As they say on Earth… play it again Sam."

Tanya laughed and poured him another which he downed just as quickly as the first. He could already feel a good buzz starting. "Just what the doctor ordered," he said slumping back in his chair. He leaned forward and massaged his forehead.

"Are you all right?" Tanya asked him.

For a reply, Brett merely gave her his best, "are you seriously asking me that question" expression.

Tanya chuckled. "All right maybe that was a loaded question."

"Ya think?" Brett responded. He shook his head. "I still don't know why the hell I'm here. Yeah I heard all the stuff that Uncle Yama, Raiden, Kitana, Jade and the others told me. And I was at that meeting of course. But none of it answers my question… why me? Why the hell am I here? Why did Raiden choose me? What do I have that someone else doesn't?"

He looked to the Edenian woman for guidance, to which Tanya only offered the following piece of advice. "I can't answer that Brett. Only you'll be to find the answer as time goes on. What I can say is that if Raiden brought you here; if he chose you; then you have something within you that even you may not be aware of yet. Just trust him and let us guide you. The rest will fall into place as time goes on."

Brett considered her words and shrugged. "Why not?" He eventually concluded. "It's not like I've got anything else more urgent to do." He slid the shot glass back in Tanya's direction. "One for the road please."

"Careful now," Tanya warned him. "This stuff isn't exactly what one would call cheap or weak."

"I'm counting on it not to be," Brett countered. "I just want to be able to sleep more than fifteen minutes at a stretch tonight."

Tanya could appreciate that, and she poured him one final glass before putting the stopper back in the bottle and returning it to the cabinet. Sliding the full glass to him, she said, "Last one. As of now, the bar is closed."

Brett didn't really appreciate her condescending comment, but at the same time he had no desire to get completely blasted. So rather than argue, he just put the third drink away as quickly as he'd put the others away. He slid off the chair and started back towards the suite he'd been given. "Thank you. I'm heading back to bed now," he said. "Maybe now I can actually get some sleep."

Tanya noticed he wasn't quite as steady on his feet as he had been when she'd led him to the bar. "You going to be okay?' she asked.

Truth be told, Brett wasn't sure. He was buzzing a lot more than he thought he would be after three drinks. Wow, that red stuff was strong. But then, he also had downed three of them in rather quick succession and on an empty stomach. Little surprise then, that he was a bit unsteady on his legs. Even so, he waved it off. "I'll be fine," he assured the Edenian. "Buenas noches."

"Good night Brett," Tanya said in return.

Somehow Brett managed to make it back to his suite without falling over and he collapsed on the bed, finally able to get a few hours of rest. The next morning however, his mouth tasted like the inside of a sweatshirt and his head felt like it had taken one too many hits with the butt of a rifle.

He tried to sit up and his head complained about it most violently. "Ooooooh," Brett groaned as pain shot through it. He massaged his temples in an effort to get the pounding to stop, but that didn't do much to help him. Shakily, he got up off the bed and headed for the restroom and the shower. He stepped inside and turned on the water, not even bothering to take his shorts off before he did.

As he let the warm water revive him, Brett thought more about the situation he was in. Even though he'd promised to see this through until this Shao Craphead, or whatever his name was, was destroyed and the threat to Earth removed, he was still having second thoughts. But it seemed like there was no way out of this. No way to get back home and resume what he'd defined as his life up until a little over a day ago.

He snorted angrily. Go back? Go back to what? He'd already decided and accepted that his career with AMRoad was over. He'd retired from the Army Reserves two years earlier after twenty years with them. His good name had been dragged through the mud by the self-proclaimed "victim's advocate" Natalie Graves. His ex-wife had done the same name smearing as well and then left him for the glittering lights and cameras of Hollywood with little more than the clothes on his back. He had nothing. No money, no home and no real future.

Here on Edenia, everything was uncertain. But at least one thing seemed to be certain. He was in a place where he was at least semi-welcome. He still didn't really like the fact that being here meant having to deal with Johnny Cage, Kurtis Stryker and Jackson Briggs and the issues he had with them would have to be dealt with sooner or later. But the others like Kitana, Jade, Tanya and Cyrax all seemed pleasant and accepting of him. And then there was "Uncle Yama" as he often called Masamune when he was a little kid. He was definitely someone Brett could trust.

When he boiled it all down in his mind, the issues Brett had here on Edenia were far easier to deal with than the issues he had back home. That being the case, maybe being here on Edenia would turn out to be a blessing in disguise. He was far from certain about that, but he decided the only way to find out was to put his best foot forward and make the most of the situation.

A short time later, after he'd finished his shower, discarded his soaked shorts in the sink and dressed in the attire given to him the previous day, Masamune arrived. Seeing Brett almost dressed reassured them both. "Ah good," Masamune commented. "We were all starting to wonder if you were awake yet."

"Yeah, I just got a late start is all," Brett replied.

"Everything okay?"

"Not particularly," he admitted. "But I'll make the best of it."

Masamune smiled, pleased that Brett was at least starting to warm up to the idea of being on Edenia. "That's the spirit my boy," he said, patting Brett on the shoulder.

"I still don't know why I'm here or what anyone expects of me," Brett said to him. "But one thing is for damn sure. I won't get any answers by going, 'woe is me' and sitting around sulking. So for now, I'll follow your lead and figure things out as they go."

His sensei nodded. "I understand completely Brett."

"So… what do we do first?"

Masamune chuckled. "Well a few of us have gathered for breakfast and we were kind of hoping you would join us."

"Well I got nothin' better to do," Brett said with a mild amount of sarcasm. He gestured towards the door. "Let's go."

Moments later, Brett and Masamune arrived in one of the palace's more formal dining rooms. With its elegant looking tapestries, grand paintings and other ornate decorations, the room centered around a large, eighteen chair hand carved dining table. Brett wasn't sure if this was the most formal dining room in the palace, but it certainly fit his view of what a palace dining room would be.

Upon seeing them, Queen Sindel, seated at the far head of the table, rose slightly and made a welcoming gesture with her hand. "Brett, Master Masamune, welcome to the Royal Dining Room. Please be seated gentlemen. Breakfast will be served shortly."

Without really knowing what else to do, Brett offered Sindel a bow and a sincere, "Thank you."

Fifteen others were present as well including Kitana, who was seated at the near head of the table and Jade who was seated immediately to Kitana's left. Others included Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Kai, Li Mei, Sub Zero, Cyrax, Tanya, Sonya, Ashrah, Sareena, Jax, Johnny and Stryker. There was a seat between Jade and Sareena, directly across from Li Mei that was open and Brett chose to sit there. A quick glance across the table and Brett could tell Li Mei was very happy he'd chosen to sit across from her. Masamune took the other open seat between Sub Zero and Jax, across from Ashrah.

With Sareena and Ashrah to his left, Jade and Kitana to his right and Li Mei across from him, Brett couldn't remember a time when he'd had more beautiful women this close to him. _All right numbnuts,_ he told himself. _Get your head out of the gutter_.

"Did you sleep well," Kitana asked him.

"Sleep, yes," Brett replied. "Well… that's open to some debate. Please forgive me Your Highness, but I am still trying to process everything that's gone on in the last day or so."

Kitana smiled warmly at him. "I understand Brett. We all do. Trust me when I say that no one here is expecting you to adjust to all this overnight."

"Thank you," he said still grateful for the hospitality they were showing him.

"So tell us about yourself," Ashrah prompted. "We didn't get much of a chance to visit with you after our introductions yesterday." She gestured in the general direction of everyone else. "So that being said, we're all kind of interested in learning more about you."

"Not all of us," Johnny muttered under his breath.

He wasn't as quiet as he thought he had been. Several others heard the comment including Brett, but he decided to ignore it for the time being. No sense in reopening old wounds now when it wasn't necessary. Instead he merely shrugged. "What's there to tell? I'm from Earth. The United States to be precise."

Masamune rolled his eyes. "Brett, you said you were going to make the best of this. Now come on, live up to your own promise."

"All right, all right," Brett gave in. He turned to Ashrah. "I guess I'll start by reiterating that I'm from Fort Stockton, Texas in the United States. My parents are still alive and they've been married fifty years now. My mother was a housewife and my father was a railroad engineer like I am. Or rather, was. He hired out on the Southern Pacific back in '65 and transferred to AMRoad when it was created in '71. He stayed with them until he retired a little over a decade ago."

Jade gave him a knowing smile. "Is that how you ended up with this, whatever AMRoad is?"

Brett smiled and nodded. "Yep. I was the only one of us to get into the railroad industry like dad. He put in a few good words for me, but I don't know that he actually had any clout in getting me hired. Whatever the truth behind it is, I ended up being based out of Chicago. So when I was eighteen it was bye-bye Fort Stockton, hello Windy City."

Liu Kang couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "Wait, wait… a railroad engineer?" he asked in disbelief.

Brett nodded, "That's right. I was railroad engineer for twenty-four years."

 _Geez Raiden_ , Liu Kang thought. _What the hell have you done by sending us this guy?_

Sonya asked a question. "You have siblings then?"

Again Brett nodded. "Got a brother and sister ahead of me and a brother and sister behind me. We're a tight knit group and I can only imagine what they're going to be thinking when they realize I've disappeared, quite literally, off the face of the planet. What with one thing and another it's hardly a surprise. My oldest brother, Dave, is a highly regarded and board certified plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills."

Johnny's jaw nearly hit the table. "Y-you… Dave Hudson is your brother?!"

Brett expected that kind of reaction from the lousy actor. "Yes he is Johnny," he said with a not-so-nice smile on his face. "And yes, I do know about his clients… including you."

Sonya had to stifle a laugh.

"My older sister, Janice, is three times divorced with four kids. She ended up in West Virginia working for a mining company," Brett went on. "Younger brother Paul, is married with two kids and is a schoolteacher in Fort Stockton. And my youngest sister, Emily… well, I really don't know where she is or what she's doing. She and I haven't spoken in quite a few years."

"Why," Jade and several others were curious to know. "What happened?"

"I'd um… I'd rather not say," Brett replied. "What I will say though is that we are a hardy breed and we can be a very stubborn breed. We're of Scottish, Irish and Ukrainian descent with a fair amount of Romanian and German thrown in for good measure."

There was small chorus of laughs from a few of the others. "Well if you don't want to talk about your little sister, how about you tell us more about Fort Stockton," Ashrah suggested. "What's it like?"

"It's a small place," Brett admitted. "Population is only about eighty-five hundred. Area is kind of arid and very hot in the summer. Good for raising cattle… and rattlesnakes."

Sonya Blade snickered quietly.

"It's also home to Paisano Pete," Brett said. "The world's largest road runner. It's actually a giant metal statue that welcomes people to Fort Stockton."

Kung Lao smiled. "And right behind him would be the world's largest coyote with the world's largest box that has the word ACME on it, right?"

Brett laughed. "Yeah, something like that," he said. He looked around and it was obvious from the expressions that most of them had failed to get the joke. "Okay, I guess most of you have never seen a Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoon." He went on. "South of Fort Stockton is the two hundred twenty thousand acre La Escalera Ranch which is known for its Black Angus cattle and abundant wildlife. Spent many a weekend and several summers when I was a teenager on or near that ranch. I'd do a lot of hunting and learning survival skills while sleeping under the stars. I also spent quite a bit of time doing fun stuff like bronco riding, steer roping and wrestling, cutting, calf roping and chuckwagon racing."

"Wow," Sonya exclaimed. "Brett Maverick indeed. You really are a cowboy."

"In my youth," Brett said with a smile.

"Ever do any bull riding?" Sonya wondered.

Brett nodded. "Yeah I did a bit of that too."

Across from Sonya, Johnny muttered, "A picture of an idiot in action."

Sonya shot Johnny an angry glare.

Most everyone at the table had heard Johnny's comment as he had never been known for subtlety. "You know I could say the same about your last six movies Johnny. What did they gross at the box office? Thirty seven million total? So your career has pretty much tanked hasn't it?"

"I create art," Johnny said. "I can't help it if the public doesn't have a taste for art."

Brett looked amazed. "Teen Bikini Beach Ball Bash was art? I don't think so there Rembrandt and neither did any of the critics. They all thought it was one step above sleaze. Never thought I'd ever witness a movie that made less than "John Carter" did, but you managed it with that one."

Johnny gave Brett an incredibly hostile stare.

"Anyway, after I graduated high school, I hired out on AMRoad as I said and ended up working in the Chicago area," Brett got back to the point of the discussion. "So I traded my cowboy hat for an engineer's hat and the beastly hot summers for windy, frigid winters."

"And you still somehow managed to find time to study martial arts in addition to being a country, two-stepping redneck," Liu Kang asked.

Brett didn't really appreciate being called a redneck. Yes he was born and raised a country boy and that would forever be a part of him. As they often said, 'you could take the boy out of Texas but you couldn't take Texas out of the boy.' Even so, living in Chicago for two decades as he had, he'd grown to prefer his adopted hometown over his true hometown. Until recently, there had just been something about the hustle and bustle of it all that he preferred.

Still, he pleasantly answered Liu's question and he pointed to Masamune. "Can you picture him in a Stetson hat, blue jeans and chaps? No? Well give it a shot because it sure helped that Uncle Yama there was a ranch hand for a number of years on the La Escalera Ranch."

The caused quite a few heads to turn and look at Master Masamune. Sindel started laughing. "Uncle Yama, hmm? You never said you were a ranch hand."

He smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "Guilty as charged," he said. "It's how I met young Brett. To this day, I don't know why I suddenly decided to train him in the martial arts. But something inside me said he would be a good student. I have never been disappointed. As for the whole 'Uncle Yama' thing, he's been calling me that since he was a kid."

A few of the others laughed and enjoyed the light hearted moment. Brett answered the remainder of Liu's question. "As for two-stepping, truth be told, I haven't been two stepping in years. My ex-wife never wanted to learn how."

Jade gave Brett a curious look. "Two stepping?"

"Ah the Two-Step is a type of country and western dance that is very popular in the more rural areas of the United States, particularly out west like Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and other places. It's often called the Texas Two-Step because when one thinks of American country and cowboys, Texas is the place that most often comes to mind."

"Oh," Jade replied.

Kitana cleared her throat slightly, indicating she wanted to get Brett's attention. "And what about this AMRoad you've said you worked for. What exactly is that?"

"It's difficult to explain, but I'll try," Brett said. "Forty some odd years ago, the United States' federal government took over responsibility of running intercity passenger trains," Brett explained. "For you all who are native Edenians, I'm not sure if you know what passenger trains, or trains in general, are?"

"We know more about Earthrealm now than we did when we first encountered Earthrealmers," Kitana admitted. "And there is still much we do not know about your realm. That being said, even though we do not have them here, we do have an idea of what most of the various modes of transportation on Earthrealm are, including trains."

Brett nodded. "Okay then. It would take me all day to explain why the US government took over running the nation's passenger trains. Time that I do not wish to waste on that subject if only because it would be boring for most of you. So let me sum it up by saying that AMRoad is the name of the government organization that runs the US's passenger trains. Plain and simple."

"That's where I've seen you before," Sonya interrupted. "When we first met yesterday, I knew I'd seen you from someplace. You've been in the news lately. The Hawthorne Road / Rail accident, right?"

"I remember that too," Cyrax added. "Didn't the board of inquiry just finish its investigation into that accident?"

 _Great,_ Brett thought angrily. _That's all I need. To have my name dragged through the mud here too._ He didn't deny Sonya's claim though. "Yes, the National Transportation Safety Board did recently wrap up its investigation. I was there at the final hearing. So was all the damn press waiting to crucify me despite the NTSB's findings."

Kitana was really curious about this accident that Brett was involved in. "Forgive me Brett, but this accident has been mentioned several times now since yesterday. May I ask what happened?"

"Now I must ask you to forgive me Your Highness because I don't really know you, or any of you, all that well," Brett said. He cast a brief dirty look at Johnny, Stryker and Jax while he looked more pleasantly at Masamune. "Well… I don't know most of you. To put it bluntly, what happened was one of the worst railroad accidents in recorded history and I was in the center of it. Beyond that, I will not say any more until I am more acclimated to you all and these surroundings. What happened is very difficult for me to talk about and I don't share it with just anybody."

Of course Johnny Cage had to open his mouth. "Well I can tell you what happened. See he's speeding down the rails and… OW! Dammit!"

Sonya was sitting directly across from him and the minute he opened his mouth, she kicked him as hard as she could in the shins.

"What the hell was that for?" Johnny complained.

"To keep you from sticking your foot in your mouth and possibly to keep Brett from sticking his foot up your ass," Sonya growled. "Have a little respect for his wish and keep your damn mouth shut."

Brett was glaring angrily at Johnny as well, but elected to keep his seat. Especially since Sonya had already taken care of the problem. "Thank you Sonya," he said. "The only other thing I will say to you all is this… the accident cost me nearly everything. It cost me my job, my house, my life savings, my good name, a fair number of friends, my marriage and it damn near cost me my sanity. For now, I'll leave it at that."

"I think that's probably best," Sindel spoke up. "After all, you are a guest here and we don't wish to make you uncomfortable. So on behalf of all of us here, please accept my apologies if we touched a nerve with you."

"Oh that's all right Your Majesty," Brett said. "You didn't really irritate me. It's just something I don't want to talk about right now. That final hearing that Cyrax mentioned was less than a week ago and everything about the accident is still very fresh in my mind. The bad, the ugly and everything else. I just don't want to talk about it right now."

"I understand Brett," Sindel replied. "We all do. Again, please accept our apologies."

"Thank you Your Majesty," he said. "I do."

At that moment, breakfast was served by some members of the palace staff. There was a variety of food offered, some of which Brett recognized, some of which he didn't. He decided for now to stick with what looked and smelled familiar and so helped himself to some eggs, some bacon, a bowl of fresh fruit, some potatoes and a curious tasting juice. It tasted similar to pineapple juice but there was something a little different about it. What it was, he couldn't say for sure and it didn't matter in the end. He was actually kind of surprised at how familiar some of the food was on Edenia compared to Earth. But then he supposed that no matter where humans lived, the diet would be relatively similar.

"So," Jade said a few moments later in between bites of egg. "What else have you done? What other kind of training have you had? A few of us who were privy to the conversation yesterday in the White Drawing Room know you've spent time in an Earthrealm military.

"As a reservist," Johnny muttered earning himself a warning stare from Sonya that said if he opened his mouth out of turn again he'd get another kick in the shins.

Jade ignored him. "But many of us here weren't privy to that conversation. So why don't you bring us all up to speed then?"

Sareena agreed. "Yes, I think we'd all be interested as to just what skills you possess that prompted Raiden to bring you here."

"Fair enough," Brett replied. "Well as you all know already, I've been a student of Uncle Yama there for many years. Ever since I was a little kid in Fort Stockton."

Kitana and Jade couldn't contain their laughter. Even Sindel broke up a bit. "Uncle Yama," Kitana repeated. She thought the name was priceless.

"And what Jade said was true," Brett went on. "I was in the US Army for twenty years." He shot a dirty look at Johnny. "And yes, I was a reservist. The 357th Airborne Pathfinder Company is based about thirty miles from where I lived in Chicago at the time. Being an experienced outdoorsman, I thought it would be a good way to put what I knew to use. So I learned how to set up landing, drop and insertion zones. And for about four years, that's all I did.

"Then for whatever reason, the Department of the Army decided to create a few reserve sniper platoons from various reserve Airborne Pathfinder units. Well guess what? The 357th was one of the lucky few that was told, 'thou shalt have a sniper platoon.' Being an experienced outdoorsman and hunter, my marksmanship scores were always very high. And when the command staff of the 357th Company started looking for possible candidates to send to sniper school, it didn't take them long to zero in on me.

"So off to Fort Benning, Georgia and the Army Sniper School I went," he said. "Seven weeks of learning advanced marksmanship, sniper equipment, tactics, man-tracking, intelligence gathering and so on. After spending a great deal of my childhood outdoors hunting, a lot of what they taught at the school was already second nature for me. But I nevertheless did what I was supposed to do and graduated with high honors." He shoved another bite of eggs into his mouth. "Myself and five others, including my best friend Kevin, then became the first trained snipers in the 357th Reserve Company. Eight others from our company failed the class.

"In time, our sniper platoon grew to include a total of fifteen, two-man teams," Brett concluded. "I and a handful of others were eventually sent to US Army Ranger School, because whenever we were activated, we most often went out with one of the three active Ranger Battalions. Even so, we didn't see a whole lot of real action until after the September 11th attacks and the War on Terror began." He took a big swig of coffee. "That's when things got really interesting."

"How so?" Jade asked.

"Well let's just say that I never imagined my name would be a topic of conversation along with others like Chuck Mawhinney, Carlos Hathcock, Eric England and Bert Waldron," Brett said. "Those guys are legendary US military snipers."

"Sounds like you accumulated an impressive record yourself as a sniper," Cyrax pointed out.

Brett shrugged. "Whether I did or not makes no difference to me," he said. "When you're in situations like those, you tend to adapt an attitude of, 'How dare you? How dare you attack me and my fellow soldiers?' And then you do what you're trained to do. The numbers and records and whatever else are meaningless."

As he finished eating his breakfast, Sindel looked Brett over thoughtfully and considered what he'd said about his experience. Maybe Raiden did know what he was doing in bringing this single man to them. From the look on her daughter's face, Sindel could tell that Kitana was thinking the same thing.

 _Palace Training Room_

 _Later that day_

Brett swung his left arm to the side and blocked the punch that Masamune threw at him. Immediately his teacher threw another punch from the opposite angle that Brett weaved away from. Turning to his right, Brett countered with an elbow strike at Masamune's head, but his teacher caught the blow and pushed him away. Spinning around, Brett assumed a guard position and waited for 'Uncle Yama's' next move.

For most of the day, the teacher and student had been sparring with each other quite intensely. Masamune had given him little time to rest between bouts, claiming that he was testing to see how Brett's skills were compared to the others. By mid-afternoon, Brett was exhausted from the whole ordeal yet he pushed himself onward anyway. Masamune had never tested his skills to this level before and more than once he'd thought he was going to pass out. But every time he felt like giving up, Masamune would simply keep up his attack and not give him the chance.

Brett caught Masamune's foot in a trap and swept his legs out from under him, causing his long-time friend and teacher to go down on his back. Stepping forward, Brett aimed a punch at his teacher's forehead that would've knocked him out had it connected. But Masamune returned the favor, sweeping Brett's legs out from under him and getting up as Brett went down.

Brett rolled back to his feet and assumed a defensive stance, but a second later, Masamune made a slashing movement across his throat, indicating he was done sparring. He moved towards Brett nonchalantly, as if he wished to converse with him. But at the last second, he threw a hard punch at Brett's face.

It was a tactic that Brett had seen Masamune try only a couple other times in his life. Even so, he wasn't fooled by it. He slapped Masamune's trick attack to the side and whacked him in the forehead with a hit that, while not hard enough to cause real injury, nevertheless got him to back off.

Masamune stumbled back and smiled. He made another gesture and said, "Okay, that's enough. For real this time."

Brett was glad. He'd been panting heavily for some time now, but only recently had Masamune showed signs of fatigue. He sank to his knees and tried to catch his breath. The last time he remembered being pushed to his limits like this was in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan. If that was true, his skills had deteriorated over time.

Masamune confirmed his suspicions a few seconds later. "You've lost it a little bit," he said. "Your power is as strong as ever but you lacked the speed and finesse that I know you're capable of. And your overall stamina needs some work as well."

Brett bowed his head shamefully. "I know. I haven't been practicing as much as I should've been lately."

"Given what all's been going on in your life as of late, I suppose that's to be expected to a degree," Masamune replied. "Nevertheless, your skills must improve and quickly if you are to stand your ground against the threats we face."

"Just how many followers does this Shao Craphead have anyway," Brett wondered.

Masamune snorted. "Legions Brett. Legions."

 _That's what I was afraid of._

From their vantage point elsewhere in the training hall, Liu Kang and Kung Lao watched Masamune put Brett through his paces. Though each of them admitted Brett did have some skills, Liu was more critical of them. "I don't know," he said as the two of them walked away from the scene. "He's got some skills, to be sure. But they're nowhere close what they should be for warriors of our caliber."

"He said as much a few minutes ago, remember?" Kung Lao reminded him. "He knows he needs the practice."

"But how long will he have to practice before we're called on to deal with a threat?" Liu asked. "What if Shao Kahn's invasion comes before he's truly ready? Then what? He's not a professional fighter like most of the rest of us."

"He was a soldier for twenty years," Kung Lao protested. "And a professional sniper for most of that time."

"I know," Liu Kang grunted. "And I cannot think of a more ignoble and cowardly profession for any soldier. They strike from the shadows like wraiths. Like that vile Noob Saibot. They have no honor."

Kung Lao wondered if Liu Kang was thinking straight and his face showed it. While he may not have thought all that highly of snipers himself, thus far Brett had done nothing to show them that he was a coward or dishonorable. So what the hell was Liu Kang's problem with Brett? Could Liu actually be jealous of Brett? Kung Lao shook his head. Nah, that was absurd.

Liu shook his head disdainfully. "I think Raiden made a massive mistake in bringing this newcomer here."

"I think you're being a little hasty in your judgment," Kung Lao told him.

"I don't," Liu Kang responded arrogantly. "But for all our sakes, I hope you're right."

 _Realm of Outworld – Shao Kahn's Palace_

 _Training Room_

Baraka hit the floor with a loud thud and groaned painfully. He turned to face his opponent and struggled to get up. This was the first time he'd faced Shao Kahn's ultimate enforcer and he was beginning to wish he hadn't volunteered to be her sparring partner today. No wonder Shao Kahn said she was dangerous and unstable. Baraka had a feeling that damned Ermac knew he couldn't beat Skarlet, despite his Tarkatan physiology and rage.

As if to prove the point, Skarlet's stiletto heeled boot slammed into the Tarkatan's head and he let out a moan an instant before being sprawled spread eagle on the floor unconscious. She smiled in satisfaction and licked the little bit of Baraka's blood off the blade of one of her kodachi swords. She purred her approval to no one in particular.

With the sweet taste of Baraka's blood on her throat, Skarlet felt vibrant and rejuvenated. But he was just small potatoes in her mind. After her disastrous sparring match yesterday, she really wanted to fight Ermac again. But he'd wisely avoided her this day. Probably because he knew she was going to be seething with fury over her loss to him.

Skarlet figured another day would be a good day for a rematch against Ermac. Truth be told, her mind was still plagued with visions of the mysterious stranger. But she'd been better able to ignore them while fighting against Baraka. Unlike Ermac, Baraka wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer and he had a style that was more about brute force and overpowering an opponent than finesse and grace. So beating him had been easy despite her mind's preoccupation.

It was almost time for her to be returned to her cell and chained up. But before that happened, she just wanted to rest a while. The lack of sleep due to her tortured dreams was really starting to wear her down and she feared that it wouldn't be much longer before Emperor Kahn or one of the others started picking up on that fact. Then what would she do? Continue to tell everyone she was fine? Once Shao Kahn found out about this he was not going to be happy that she'd kept it from him. He expected total obedience from her and up until recently, she'd given it to him. Were he to find out about this now, if she was lucky he'd just pound her to death with that giant hammer of his.

Even though she was just over two years old, Skarlet knew much about the Elder Gods, the Mortal Kombat tournaments and Shao Kahn's desire to have all realms brought together under his control. She'd learned much of it from Shao Kahn himself, though exactly how much of that he'd wanted her to learn was something of a mystery. And at the moment, it didn't matter. Closing her eyes, she immediately saw that blinding light and heard the wailing horn again. _Elder Gods,_ she pleaded. _Please let me meet this stranger soon. Let me taste his blood. Let me finally be free of this curse._

A foul stench wafted into her nose an instant before she turned and saw the man's approach. He had short, dark brown hair, a neatly trimmed mustache and beard and a cybernetic right eye that glowed a sinister looking red. Another one of her daddy's minions and the chief supplier of Earthrealm type weapons to his armies. His scruffy and dirty style of dress belied his position as the head of the Black Dragon, an Earthrealm criminal, mercenary and arms consortium well known for helping to instigate civil unrest and even outright war in some of Earth's more troubled regions.

Skarlet didn't particularly like Kano all that much. For all his bluster, bravado and smack talk, she had yet to see Kano truly fight anyone. Oh sure, he'd sparred with some of her daddy's lesser minions, and done just fine against them. But she couldn't remember seeing him spar against anyone truly substantial like Baraka, Reptile or Ermac. Certainly he'd never sparred against her and it made Skarlet wonder if Kano was, at heart, little more than a coward and a bully.

"Not bad lass," Kano's sneering demeanor mocked. "Could've been better, but not bad at all."

"Oh really?" Skarlet challenged him. "And I suppose you could've done better?"

"Sure I could have," Kano boasted. "I could've knocked him out in a minute flat. You took nearly double that time. That's too slow on a battlefield lass. Could get yourself killed real quick."

Skarlet gave him a not-so-friendly smile from under the crimson veil that covered the lower half of her face. "Is that so? Maybe you'd like to test that theory against me later today in a sparring match, hm?"

Kano looked like he'd taken a karate chop to the throat and the color drained from his face. Nevertheless, he maintained his 'tough guy' appearance. "I'd be more than happy to school you Skarlet," he said in that 'Aussie' accent of his. "But the demands your father has placed upon me are far more important than that. So much to do. So little time."

"If you have so little time to waste Kano," Skarlet growled. "Then why are you standing around talking to me?"

"Well I just happened to have a few spare minutes…" Kano began.

Skarlet took a swipe at him and the blade just grazed his left cheek. She was about to go for the death blow, when Baraka suddenly appeared between them, forcing them apart. "No!" he commanded. "Not here! The Emperor would not want two of his finest warrior fighting to death like this!"

Skarlet eyed Kano with utter contempt and he looked like he was about to mess his pants. Muttering a string of obscenities to himself, Kano retreated while Skarlet licked the few drops of his blood from her sword, savoring its sweet taste.

Baraka had obviously recovered, to a reasonable degree, from his thrashing at Skarlet's hands. With perhaps a little bit of shaken confidence he commanded, "It's time for you to get back in your cell Dangerous One."

"I'll be along in a minute," Skarlet replied.

"Perhaps you didn't hear me," Baraka said, pushing his luck. "It's time you were back in your cell!"

Skarlet's grips around the handle of her kodachi tightened. "I said in a minute, lap dog!" She hissed at him. "Now back off before I decide that you didn't get enough of a beating a few minutes ago!"

Baraka wisely backed away. Emperor's ultimate enforcer? Bah. She was just a maniacal, bloodthirsty, twisted, unnatural creation of sorcery. And she was as mentally unstable as they came. Perhaps even more so than that crazy Mileena who was always dancing, skipping and laughing like a little girl all over the palace.

Sure enough, Mileena picked that moment to show up in the training hall, skipping around as always and her annoying "ahahahahahahaha," laugh echoing throughout the training hall. She stopped her childish dancing long enough to kneel in front of Skarlet and get practically nose to nose with her. "What's the matter blood warrior?" she taunted. "Are you sad that you have to be chained up in a cell while the rest of us walk freely?"

"Get lost… cannibal!" Skarlet growled as she swiped at Mileena's throat with one of her swords. Her "sister's" reflexes were a little too fast however and Skarlet's blade missed by mere millimeters. She got up and pranced away from Skarlet, laughing and skipping all the while. "Try again… sister," she taunted. "You've a long way to go before you can beat me. In fact, I don't think you ever will. Ahahahahahaha!"

Oooooh, that Mileena burned Skarlet up. Yeah she was kind of Skarlet's "sister" as they'd both been created from sorcery, but they couldn't have been more dissimilar. Skarlet sighed. It was kind of a shame really. When Skarlet first learned she had an "older sister" she'd been kind of excited at the prospect of forming a sisterly bond with her. Unfortunately though, as childish and immature as Mileena was, she couldn't have been less interested in being a big sister to Skarlet or anyone else for that matter. In fact, she'd actually tried to eat Skarlet's face not long after they'd been introduced. Only Skarlet's quickness with her blades got Mileena to back off and not try anything like that again.

And truth be told, Skarlet was getting tired of the way she was treated by everyone, including the Emperor. Ever since Shao Kahn had first decreed she was to kept locked up at almost all times, everyone around her treated her with utter contempt and revulsion. Well most of them anyway. It just didn't seem fair to her that she had to spend all of her spare time in shackles because Kahn had decreed her to be dangerous and unstable. But she'd seen first-hand what happened to those who dared to challenge him and even Skarlet didn't think she was strong enough to take on the likes of him.

Oh well, it was the life she'd been given and she wasn't going to jeopardize that. She sheathed her sword and started walking the opposite way Mileena had out of the training room with Baraka in tow. And in short order, she came upon another of Shao Kahn's most trusted generals; the Outworlder known as Reiko. "Careful you don't satiate your need for blood on the Emperor's daughter or he might satiate his need for wanton destruction on you," he warned. He then presented her with a look that could only be described as suggestive. "Of course if you and I were to become… closer… I might be able to protect you from him if you were to, discipline certain people shall we say?"

Ugh. Reiko repulsed her almost as much as Ermac did, but at least he had the good sense not to try and force himself on her. Even so, Reiko's advances were as welcome as Ermac's had been. The Outworld general never saw the attack coming. Skarlet turned slightly and hammered her foot right between his legs, mashing his balls as hard as she could against his pelvic bones. Reiko's glowing white eyes went wide and he doubled over in agony. He yelped and with his breath suddenly labored, fell to floor and cradled his crushed maleness in his hands.

"That's okay," Skarlet told the whimpering Outworlder. "I don't need protection. Yours or anyone else's." And she stormed out of the room, leaving the moaning general in a crumpled heap.

 _Realm of Edenia – The Royal Palace_

 _A few days later_

As his first days on Edenia turned into his first week, Brett Hudson slowly began to get acclimated to his new surroundings and new people. And as he did he began to pick out the ones who he felt he could possibly trust and those that gave him a peculiar and not entirely good feeling. Still, he'd promised to put his best foot forward and perhaps he was rushing to judgement just a little bit. He _was_ relatively new here after all.

He'd also spent quite a bit of time studying the history of Edenia thanks to "Uncle Yama", Kitana and Jade. He learned how it had been a lush planet of unparalleled beauty at one time. But all that had changed when King Jerrod's finest warriors had lost ten Mortal Kombat tournaments in a row, giving Shao Kahn, the Emperor of Outworld, permission to invade the realm and merge them together into one.

That had occurred ten thousand years earlier when Kitana was a newborn infant. To say that Brett was surprised at learning Kitana's true age, along with Jade's and Sindel's, was the understatement of the century. A part of him thought he really had lost his mind at that point.

To legitimize his rule, Shao Kahn had executed King Jerrod and his top military generals, ordered Quan Chi to put Queen Sindel under a mind control spell and taken her as his bride. With that, he'd raised both Kitana and Jade from near infancy, into some of the most powerful warriors Outworld had ever known. And he'd done it all while keeping them in the dark about their true heritage and the horrible fate that had befallen their world.

Until a little over two years ago, when Shao Kahn seemed posed to invade Earthrealm. One of his finest warriors, the Shokan Prince Goro, had won nine Mortal Kombat tournaments over the course of five hundred years. He was poised to win the tenth when he was unexpected defeated by Liu Kang, thereby ensuring that Kahn could not invade and merge Earth to Outworld for at least another five hundred years. Liu Kang also went on to defeat the sorcerer, Shang Tsung and Kahn himself when he challenged him in an effort to preserve Kahn's right to invade Earth. When Tsung failed, Kahn himself challenged Liu Kang and was defeated much to the surprise of everyone and solidifying Earth's right to remain free for another 500 years… or so the rules stated.

But defeat was not yet done with Shao Kahn.

Brett learned that during the tournament, Liu Kang had befriended both Princess Kitana and Jade. The two Edenian women had, in turn, befriended Lord Raiden. Through him, Kitana learned her true Edenian Princess heritage and Jade about her being the only child of King Jerrod's top general. Enraged at having been lied to all their lives, they turned on Shao Kahn.

Jade had battled Quan Chi and Sindel in an effort to free Sindel from Quan Chi's mind control. And Kitana had battled her "father" in a bid to free Edenia from his rule. With the ladies victorious, Edenia was separated from Outworld once more and Sindel was broken loose of Quan Chi's control.

 _Oooooh,_ Brett thought after learning all this _. I'm really looking forward to meeting this Shao Craphead._ But he was convinced now more than ever that if Shao Kahn was planning another invasion of Edenia and subsequent invasion of Earth, against tournament rules, he had to be getting help from somewhere. Somehow, he'd found a way to get around the rules and Brett was more than a little keen to know how he was doing it. Ah well, he'd have to figure that out another day. Right now, despite almost daily martial arts practice, he wasn't sure he'd be able to stand against Shao Kahn if he had to face him.

Thus far he'd spent his mornings doing self-practice, afternoons sparring with others, early evenings studying as much history as he could and more self-practice late at night. Thus far, he'd bested Sonya and Kitana while sparring, battled Cyrax and Smoke each to a draw and been bested by Sub Zero, Jade and Uncle Yama. He hadn't sparred against any of the others as of yet and it had been a tough lesson in lack of skill development. Truth be told, Brett hadn't really kept up with his martial arts training ever since the accident and it showed quite a bit.

Granted, there were certain things about martial arts that were like riding a bicycle; once you learned it, you never forgot. But his skills needed a lot of work and he knew it. Masamune was hoping that with almost non-stop immersion type training, Brett could at least partially make up for lost time before he met Shao Kahn's forces for the first time. That however was a long shot as they had no idea when Shao Kahn's invasion would come. And even if Shao Kahn didn't make a big move any time soon, he would most certainly send probing parties every now and then to test Edenia's defenses.

On the morning of his eighth day on Edenia, Masamune led Brett out to the palace courtyard for a demonstration… a sparring match between Princess Kitana and her long-time friend, Jade. Also present to watch were Ashrah, Sub Zero, Sareena, Liu Kang, Li Mei, Johnny Cage and Queen Sindel. The others had all returned to either Earth or their posts on Edenia to resume their normal duties / lives and as Edenia's top diplomat, Tanya had been sent to the outlying settlement of Bexbran to strengthen relations with the palace.

Among the flowering plants of the courtyard, they gathered in a large circle around an area of grass as Kitana and Jade faced each other and prepared themselves for battle. Sitting in the traditional Japanese kneeling style of seiza, Brett was a little put off by the fact the Li Mei chose to sit _extremely_ close to him. So close in fact that she made sure their arms and legs were slightly touching. He glanced over at her and she gave him a sultry look along with an eyebrow twitch before focusing her attention on the sparring match that was about to take place.

Brett looked back at Masamune and rolled his eyes. The only thing his teacher could do was shrug. He didn't need this. Romance, especially the cheap kind, was the last thing he was looking for at the moment. Not that there weren't enough beautiful women around. But after what Annette had done to him, he was loathe to trust any woman that deeply again.

Still, maybe a relationship of sorts would be good for him. Perhaps not a romantic one, but he should try to make some kind of a connection with at least one of his "hosts". They had been kind enough after all to more or less open their palace, their lives and their plight to him. The least he could do was show some gratitude.

From the opposite side of the circle they formed, Sareena observed the exchange and leaned towards her sister. "It seems Li Mei has taken quite the liking to our new Earthrealm friend."

"Yes," Ashrah agreed. "But it seems our new friend hasn't exactly taken the same kind of shine to her."

"No, you're right," Sareena agreed. "From the way he looked to Masamune for help, he appears to be thoroughly disinterested in her."

"You think Li Mei knows that?" Ashrah wondered.

"If she does, Sareena replied. "She's not taking the hint." She looked at her sister with a smirk. "Why don't you make a play for him? I know you've taken a bit of a liking to him as well."

"Why don't you?" Ashrah suggested.

Next to Sareena, Sub Zero's eyes narrowed as he glanced at Ashrah with mild hostility.

Sareena affectionately stroked his arm. "You know I'm spoken for," she said. "Not to mention Kuai here might have something to say about that."

"Yes, I would," Sub Zero agreed.

Before any more could be said, the sparring match between Jade and Kitana began. Immediately Brett was awed with how both women moved with such speed and grace. Yet the power behind each of their moves wasn't lost on him. Despite beating Kitana in a sparring match a few days earlier, their skill made him feel rather inferior. And he began to wonder if Kitana had been holding back during their entire bout. As if beating her had been nothing more than a fluke.

He pretty much got his answer when Kitana seemingly drew a pair of steel fans from nowhere and he saw Jade's hand glow white. A second later, a one foot steel pole appeared in it and they started to battle again. What the heck? What was going on here?

Fascinated by the display, Brett watched as Jade swung the pole at Kitana from a distance that seemed to be way too far to score a hit. His jaw nearly hit the ground when he saw Jade's staff suddenly extend and, at the apex of her swing, a ball of green energy was launched at the princess. Faster than anyone could bat an eye, Kitana waved her fans around her body and executed a superhuman spin. With a blue flash, she disappeared from where she was and rematerialized behind Jade.

The Edenian general expected the move however, and thrust her staff back, catching Kitana in the stomach and driving her back. In response, Kitana swept both of her fans in front of her body and a wave of energy shot forward from them. Using her staff as sort of a pogo stick, Jade launched herself straight into the air to avoid it. As she did, she twisted her body and brought her staff around, swinging down at Kitana as she came back down.

This went on for the next few minutes as Brett watched the two women battle each other with a complex mix of standard martial arts maneuvers mixed with magical maneuvers. Jade's staff would lengthen and shorten seemingly at her will and she'd cast green energy balls at Kitana while she would generate waves of energy from her fans and even use them to create gusts of wind. Some of those gusts would push Jade back while others would outright knock Jade on to her backside.

 _What the hell am I doing here,_ Brett asked himself. _How the hell can I compete or fight against stuff like this?_ With the doubt and uncertainly overtaking his mind, he abruptly got up and walked away from the scene surprising many, but none more so than Masamune.

"Where are you going?" Li Mei asked.

He didn't answer her. Kitana and Jade suddenly stopped sparring as they witnessed him leave in apparent concern and distress. Both of them looked at Masamune questioningly, but only Kitana spoke. "What's the problem? Have we done something wrong?"

Yamato watched as Brett disappeared through an archway to a different part of the courtyard. He turned back to the ladies and shook his head. "I… I don't think so. I'll go talk to him and find out what's bothering him."

It didn't take Yamato long to find him. He was standing with his back towards his teacher in front of some large native flowering plant staring off into empty space. Yamato stopped and looked at him like a concerned father. Brett heard Uncle Yama's approach and briefly looked back over his shoulder at him and, almost as quickly, turned away from him. He snorted and spread his arms wide. "What the hell Uncle Yama? Are they using the Force or something?"

"Don't be absurd," Masamune replied. "That exists only in science fiction."

Brett couldn't but laugh, however the tone in which he did so was anything but jovial. "Oh really? And what the hell would you use to explain what I just saw? Looked a hell of a lot like science fiction to me!"

Yamato stepped closer to his finest pupil. "Brett, you're going to find as time goes on that the Earth is but one of many realms fighting for survival. And of those realms, Earth is the most populated and the most technologically and scientifically advanced. But it has achieved this at a cost. For the great advances Earth has made in these fields, it has all but lost its connectivity to the realm of magic."

Brett looked at Yamato like he was going crazy. "What about people like David Copperfield or Penn and Teller?"

"Fine illusionists and master tricksters," Masamune replied. "But that's exactly my point. They are masters of illusion and tricks. Masters of making people believe what they are seeing is real when it isn't. What I'm talking about, true magic, comes from the heart and the soul. The kind that you know is real because you can feel it as opposed to just seeing it."

"Is everything okay?" a voice behind them asked.

It was Jade. She'd gotten concerned enough about Brett's sudden departure to follow Yamato and see if there was anything she could do.

"I hope so Jade," Masamune said. "It's just that I think Brett here is little overwhelmed by the whole magic thing."

"Overwhelmed?" Brett asked. "How about thoroughly convinced he is way the hell out his league?" He gave his tunic a slight tug. "This is all I have here and it's not even technically mine. Aside from you, I don't have anything I would consider remotely familiar here. Most of these people are new to me. I don't have my sword with me. I don't have any of my rifles. No handguns. Nothing. And now I'm supposed to figure out a way to defend myself against magical stuff I've never seen before and can't use myself?"

"That's where you're wrong Brett," Jade said. She walked up to him and faced him while Masamune took a step back. "While it is true that most of Earthrealm's inhabitants have no idea how to use magic and are even skeptical that it exists, there are a rare few who can use it or possess the aptitude to learn how to use it. You have that ability Brett."

He couldn't help but laugh at her. "Me? I have the aptitude to do that kind of thing? I don't even know sleight of hand, how can I use magic?"

"Raiden wouldn't have brought you here if you didn't," Jade assured him. "But it's obviously dormant in you. It needs to be awakened somehow."

Brett still didn't believe what Jade was telling him. "Awakened? Okay then professor, how do we do that?"

Jade did not appreciate his tone and before he knew what was happening, Jade cracked him across the head, stunning him. "This is deadly serious Brett! This is about the future of Edenia as well as Earth. Your sarcastic jokes about this whole thing are not only not funny, they are not welcome!" Her staff appeared in her hand once more and she extended it to full length, hitting Brett suddenly in the head again but not forcefully. "Do I have your attention?"

Brett rubbed his sore head and glanced at Masamune who made no move to defend him. All his expression seemed to say was, 'You asked for it and you got it.' He raised his hands in supplication. "All right," he relented. "I'm sorry."

Jade reached out and touched his head, massaging it a little. "I'm sorry if I hurt you. But I need you to "get with it" as they say where you come from. We all do. Queen Sindel asked for a lot more than what she got when Raiden brought you here. And I'd be lying if I said that many of us aren't a little perplexed and perhaps even a little bit skeptical about his decision to bring only you to help us. But know this… if there is only one other person here who believes in you, despite having only known you for a week, that person is me."

Brett was surprised. "Why? Why do you believe in me?"

"Because you're a soldier," she told him. Jade cut him off before he could say anything contrary. "I don't care if you were a reservist, I don't care that your primary profession was that of a railroad engineer, I don't know what kind of combat experience you've had and I don't really know what a sniper is. What I do know is that you were a soldier and you served for twenty years, which I also know is considered a long time for an Earthrealmer. That alone tells me that you were a damn good one. And that earns you my respect, if not my friendship."

He nodded and smiled at her even as he got a little choked up. That was first time since arriving on Edenia that anyone had truly made him feel welcome or showed him any kind of reverence or appreciation. And after everything he'd been through in the past year, feeling respected for anything was the most wonderful feeling in the world. "Thank you," he said with genuine gratitude.

"You're welcome," Jade said. She took a step closer and wrapped her arms around him in an embrace. Not a romantic one, but a friendly welcoming one. Brett was a little stunned at first, but quickly found himself accepting her gesture and returning it in kind. It had been a long time since he'd been embraced by a woman and regardless of the circumstances or feelings behind it, it sure felt good.

Jade rubbed his back a little gave it a pat before breaking away from him. "It'll be okay Brett. I promise you."

He nodded, now in a much better mood than he had been five minutes earlier. "So then, Professor Jade, assuming you're right about my ability to use magic and that it's dormant, how do we wake it up?"

She offered him a slight smirk at the mention of "Professor Jade" but she knew his overall demeanor was more serious than it had been a few minutes earlier. So she let it go and answered with, "I don't know. But we've got to find the answer soon."

"Well, I'd be grateful for whatever assistance and guidance you can give me," he said.

Jade smiled warmly at him. "I'd be happy to Brett." She glanced at Masamune who was smiling at her, then back at Brett. "We'd better get back. The others are probably wondering where we've gotten to."

"Let's go then," Brett encouraged.

The trio returned to the group much to the relief of most of the others gathered. Kitana approached them and quietly took Jade aside. "Is everything okay?" Kitana asked her long-time friend.

"I think so," Jade replied. "Brett's problem right now is that he's a little overwhelmed and unsure of himself. He's thinking he doesn't really belong with us because his magical talents haven't manifested themselves as of yet."

Johnny Cage overheard them talking and couldn't help but throw in his two cents. "Why didn't you just let him keep going? He doesn't belong with us."

That did it. Too bad Jax and Stryker had returned to Earth the day before, or else he'd challenge all three of them. But one was better than none and it was way past the time to put the lousy actor in his place. Instead of sitting, Brett approached Kitana and Jade, the rage on his face all too apparent. But he calmly asked them, "I have yet to spar against Laughing Boy there, don't I?"

"No you haven't sparred with him as of yet," Kitana confirmed.

With a wry smile, Brett replied, "I didn't think so. Thank you." He turned, returned to the group and smacked Johnny in the back of the head. "On your feet asshole."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Johnny growled with a not so friendly smirk.

Brett moved a few paces away in the middle of the circle formed by the others. Facing the actor, he said, "Seeing if you have the damn balls to put your money where your foot is, which is in your mouth." He assumed a ready stance. "Get on your feet you jackass."

The smirk disappeared from his face and he got to his feet. Moving into the circle, he cracked his knuckles and neck before adopting an almost comical stance of his own. "Always wanted to find out just how good you really were… Maverick." He said Brett's nickname with a bit of a sneer.

"Then I suggest you pay close attention, because I'm only going to show you once," he challenged.

Johnny accepted the test and began the match with a hard punch aimed right at Brett's face. Knowing that Johnny was a master of Jeet Kune Do, Brett immediately recognized the attack as the backbone of all punching in the system. Sliding back and away to his right, Brett blocked Johnny's attack with his left hand, then stepped forward into it and countered with a palm heel strike straight to his forehead.

Johnny stumbled back, stunned and looked at Brett who stood calmly in a natural body stance. "Keep throwin' that BS at me, and you're going to bore me real quick… Rembrandt."

With an angry snarl, Johnny rushed forward and launched alternating elbow strikes at Brett. He blocked the first one and twisted out of the way of the second one. Using his momentum, he swung a hard spin kick at Johnny's head. Sensing what was happening, Johnny ducked low and tried to sweep Brett's legs out from under him but the former railroader back flipped out of range.

Going on the attack, Brett fired a hand chop at Johnny's throat. The attack was a feint and Johnny wasn't fooled by it. Brett's right leg executed the real attack at Johnny's chest. He pushed the limb aside and smashed a palm strike into Brett's ribs. He grunted painfully and turned away from the blow. A little overconfident, Johnny stepped forward to deliver the knockout strike. He realized too late that Brett was nowhere near as dazed as he was pretending to be. A solid backhand shot cracked Johnny across the head and knocked his stupid looking sunglasses right off his face.

Brett tried to finish him off with a flying spin kick, but Johnny backed away just enough and Brett's foot sailed by just in front of him. For a second both fighters paused to catch their breath and await the others' next move. Brett noticed Johnny's sunglasses at his feet. He reached down, picked them up and put them on himself.

"Take those off," Johnny ordered.

"You want them?" Brett asked. "You come and take them yourself Rembrandt."

"Fine by me," Johnny snarled. With the brief pause over, Johnny leaped forward to engage. He unloaded a few quick punches that Brett guarded against, followed by a kick to his ribs. Not able to get back in time, Brett shifted slightly and absorbed the brunt of the strike in the flat part of his back. As he grunted from pain, he grabbed Johnny by the neck and threw him over his hip, sending him to the ground.

Johnny coughed when he hit, but quickly swept Brett's feet out from under him, causing him to fall as well. The actor then aimed an elbow shot right at Brett's groin, but the engineer rolled out of the way and Johnny's arm smacked the ground. Whirling his legs around, Brett got back to his feet in the same instant Johnny bounced back to his.

The actor attacked first, sending a punch at Brett that was a fake and following up with a second punch from the opposite side. When that was blocked, Johnny unloaded a reverse spin kick at Brett's head. He ducked under it and hammered a punch into Johnny's stomach causing his to double over and wheeze in pain. Grabbing Johnny by the arms, Brett flipped him over his shoulder and slammed him down onto the ground back first. He then went for the knockout punch to the head, but somehow Johnny retained just enough of his senses to roll away from it.

The former railroader hopped backward as Johnny once more failed to sweep his legs. He landed just as Johnny got to his feet again. The actor snapped his foot forward but Brett countered with an arm chop that hammered it back down. Turning slightly the opposite way, Brett smacked Johnny on the chin with a mini-uppercut, crunching the actor's teeth together. Finally Brett slammed both his palms against Johnny's chest, sending his stumbling backwards.

 _Enough of this,_ Johnny thought. _Time to railroad this railroader right on out of here._ He cocked is hand back behind him and below his waist. It began to glow green with magical energy.

 _Swell,_ Brett thought. _Laughing Boy knows magic too? Great._

Johnny let the magic energy ball fly. As he saw it coming at him, Brett thought about how little he still knew about this new world, Edenia. Once again, life was throwing a curve ball at him and he had no idea how to react to it. It made him furious. So furious he could barely see straight. And in that moment of rage, he did the only thing he could think of, swing his hand feebly at the incoming energy blast.

It wasn't until he'd almost completed the swing that he saw his hand was glowing bright red. The others were looking at it too in stunned shock, especially Jade.

An instant later, his hand connected with the energy missile. There was a brief, bright flash and the green energy crackled around Brett's body for a few second before dissipating into nothing. No one moved and many sat with their mouths agape, too stunned to speak. Brett had just "canceled" Johnny's magic attack.

Jade smiled and leaned towards Kitana. "That took a lot less time than I thought it would."

Kitana had no words as she was dumbfounded by what had just happened. She'd never seen that before. Redirecting a magical attack was fairly common and reflecting one was rare, but not unheard of. Stopping a magical attack like that dead in its path though was something she'd never seen before in all of her 10,000 years of life.

No one was more shocked at what had happened than Brett himself. Looking down at his own hands, he saw the bright red glow around them. It was almost as if he were looking at a pair of hands other than his own. As he continued to stare at them, the red glow that surrounded them slowly faded until it was gone. He glanced over at Jade who merely smiled at him. He then looked back over at Johnny Cage who wore an expression of disbelief. Disbelief that his magical energy ball attack had failed.

"I have no idea what in the hell it was I just did," he admitted. He then offered Johnny a feral smile. "But I'll take it." He gestured to Johnny, daring him to try it again.

The actor took the bait and launched another energy ball at Brett. Hoping what had just happened wasn't a fluke, Brett swept his arm in front of it again. The red glow returned and again, Brett was able to cancel the power of the attack before it hit him. With a snort, he advanced on Johnny.

In desperation, Johnny fired energy ball after energy ball at Brett, trying to take him down. But each one that got close, he merely swatted it and felt the energy disappear as his hands connected with them. Johnny threw them faster, as fast as he could. Yet Brett stopped them all and kept coming at him.

The last one Johnny threw, Brett swept his right hand up and instead of glowing red, it glowed a bright bluish white. Instead of merely stopping the magical energy, this one was reflected right back into Johnny's chest. "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he yelled as his own attack was turned back on him, nearly jolting him senseless.

Before Johnny could do anything more Brett landed a solid blow to the actor's eye, then grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed his knee into Johnny's nuts as hard as he could. The crack of the impact was so loud it was like hearing a baseball getting smacked for a home run. Everyone in the circle heard it clearly. Both Sub Zero and Liu Kang instinctively clenched their legs together.

Even a few of the women in attendance sort of instinctively protected their sensitive pieces when they witnessed Brett's crushing attack against Johnny. Kitana turned to Jade and said, "Oh God. I'm a woman and I'm not sparring against him. And I still felt that."

"Me too," Jade wheezed.

When Brett's knee hit, Johnny's voice hit such a high pitch, it almost sounded like a little girl's voice. He doubled over moaning in agony and grabbed his crushed manhood. Brett cocked his hand back and prepared to deliver the final blow. But Johnny was in no condition to offer any resistance, moaning and crying in unbelievable agony. To unload on him any further wasn't right. Johnny may have been a prick but at heart, he was a more or less good man and even Brett acknowledged that.

With a snort, Brett let him go allowing him to fall over backwards. He then got right over Johnny and pressed his foot down on the actor's groin, exerting more pressure on it and drawing a whole new series of cries, yelps and moans from him. "Get this through your empty head actor… as far as you're concerned, I am First Sergeant Hudson. You fail to remember that actor, and I'll be more than happy to give you some more remedial education." He backed off and Johnny immediately curled up into a fetal position, still moaning and whimpering.

Brett turned to Jade and Uncle Yama, looked at his hands and smiled. "Well what do you know? Maybe I do belong here after all."

Jade smiled in return. "I'd say you do," she agreed.

"Yes"' Masamune said. "You do."

Brett laughed. "Oh Raiden," he called out.

An instant later, there was a brilliant flash of light as the thunder god appeared out of nowhere. He looked at Brett questioningly. "You called?"

Brett smiled. "I need a teensy weensy little favor from you Sparky, old pal."

 _Earthrealm – Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Major Jackson Brigg's office_

 _Concurrent with events on Edenia_

Jax and Sonya were going over the daily reports in his office when a flash of light interrupted them and Raiden appeared. Looking around quickly, Jax was glad that they were alone. Trying to explain the thunder god's sudden appearance would've been difficult, if not impossible, to anyone else. "Raiden?" he asked. "What are you doing here?" It was then that Jax and Sonya both noticed the large garbage can that Raiden had with him. It had a big Christmas-type bow on it. "And what's with that?"

Raiden smiled. "Special delivery from Brett Hudson," Raiden informed him. With that, Raiden waved his arms in front of his body and disappeared as fast as he'd arrived.

Raiden's words filled Jax with apprehension and he looked over at Sonya. "I wonder what the hell this is."

Sonya shrugged.

Jax got up from his desk and the two of them approached the can cautiously. Along with the green colored bow stuck to the lid was a message in red spray paint. "To Jax," it said. "A gift for you. Thought I'd take out the trash. 1SG Hudson."

"All right, stand back," Jax warned Sonya. "No telling what he sent us."

"You really think Raiden would deliver something that Hudson would have rigged to blow up in our faces?" Sonya asked him.

"I wouldn't put anything past that man, now just stand back," he commanded.

Sonya did as her commander ordered and Jax cautiously opened the lid. Nothing blew out the top, so that was good sign. But there was a muffled cry of some kind. Was there someone inside the garbage can? Jax and Sonya both carefully peered inside and saw the whimpering, crumpled heap of Johnny Cage inside the can. He was bloody, bruised, his sunglasses were haphazard on his face as his left eye was discolored and swollen and he was still cradling his wounded gonads.

There was another note in the can, just kind of casually tossed in like Johnny had been. Jax reached in, grabbed it and read, "Try to wrestle with the bull and you're gonna get run over."

Sonya found the spectacle rather amusing and she snorted in laughter. Oh yeah. Brett was definitely a maverick.

Jax on the other hand slapped his palm to his face and shook his head. "Don't tell me what happened Cage. I don't want to know."

 _Realm of Edenia – The Royal Palace_

 _Later that day_

With the first small request Brett had made completed, Raiden now completed the second. Having made a brief stop at Brett's uncle's property in Montana, he handed Brett his sword. "I believe this is what you asked for," the thunder god stated.

He accepted his weapon with a nod of gratitude. "It is. Thank you."

"Now what's this I hear about Brett's latent magical talents beginning to manifest themselves?" Raiden wondered.

Brett and Raiden had gathered along with Kitana, Jade, Queen Sindel and Master Masamune in Queen Sindel's private antechamber. Kitana nodded to the storm god. "Yes, that was the very topic we were in the process of discussing," she said.

"I still have no idea how the hell I did it," Brett said.

"Neither does Johnny," Jade off handedly remarked. She snickered. "I wonder what Jax was thinking when he discovered Johnny in that trash can you delivered to him, Raiden."

Kitana and Sindel laughed as well as they imagined Jax wondering why Raiden could possibly be delivering a trash can to him.

"I don't know and I don't want to know," Raiden said. He cast an exasperated look at Brett. "I sincerely hope such monkeyshines will not become the norm?"

"Hey don't get on my case Sparky," Brett groused. "Get on Cage's. I got tired of hearing his big ass mouth and its constant insults so I decided to close it. It's not my fault that he chose the method that was utilized to shut it."

"Whatever," Raiden said. "But just one other thing."

"What's that?"

"STOP CALLING ME SPARKY!"

Brett rolled his eyes. "No sense of humor," he said.

Masamune decided now was a good time to get everyone refocused before potential hostilities erupted. "If we could please get back to the point of this meeting?" he asked rather loudly.

"By all means," Kitana agreed.

"I don't think any us expected Brett's latent magical abilities to manifest so quickly or in such an in-your-face way," Masamune said. "Be that as it may, the bottom line remains that his abilities have started to become evident themselves and now he will need proper training to manage and control those abilities, lest they run wild and unpredictable."

"Right," Queen Sindel stated. "And we still don't know what other abilities he has that have yet to be discovered."

The declaration surprised Brett. "You mean I'm not done with this? There could more of this wild stuff in me?"

"That's quite likely," Kitana told him. "Very rarely does one develop just one or two magical abilities and then that's it," she said. "Now that being said, it could be weeks, months or even years before new abilities are discovered."

"On the other hand," Jade countered. "It could be hours or even minutes before new abilities are brought to bear."

Brett's head felt like it was spinning and he massaged his temples. "I have no idea what the hell was in the red rotgut Tanya gave me the first night I was here, but I'm suddenly feeling the insane urge to down a whole bottle of it."

"Knock it off," Masamune grumbled at him.

"The point now is that Brett is going to need someone to be his coach, a magic guide if you will," Sindel stated to all those who were present.

"I agree," Raiden concurred.

"So who is that someone going to be?" Sindel asked, looked expectantly at the handful of people assembled.

Jade raised her hand. "Me," she replied.

Kitana was a little surprised. "You?"

"Sure," Jade confirmed. She looked over at Brett. "I believe in him and I respect him," she said. "I told him as much earlier today when I followed him and Masamune through the courtyard. I hope he would welcome me as a teacher."

"Not that I wouldn't," Brett said. "But I am curious as to why you're not volunteering Uncle Yama?"

It was fair question, considering Masamune had been teaching Brett martial arts since he was a kid. "My magical abilities are nowhere near as developed as Jade's are, or anyone else's for that matter."

"Indeed," Sindel agreed. "Though your uncle is not completely lacking in magical ability, his skills are the weakest of anyone here. Even he acknowledges that."

Masamune nodded. "I do. Brett, you need an expert to guide and teach you these new talents you're discovering and I am simply not the expert you require. Not in this field anyway."

Brett smiled and nodded. "I understand Uncle Yama," he said and turned face Jade. "In that case, I accept your offer. I hope I'm as good a student as you expect."

"I have no doubt you will be," Jade said.

"So where do we start?"

"There's a book in the palace library I'd like you to start reading," Jade said. "I'll show you where it is. It's basically a volume that talks about the basics of magic. Where it comes from, who can use it, why you use it, that sort of thing. Because you're from Earthrealm some of it is going to be so far over your head, you'll be thinking, 'What the hell are they talking about?' That being said read the first three or four chapters anyway and tomorrow morning, ask me whatever you like and I'll do my best to explain it to you. That'll be your first lesson."

Sometime later after Jade had left Brett in the palace library to study, she walked through the winding corridors intent on getting a little rest before she had dinner. It had, after all, been a rather exhilarating day. Kitana caught up to her in the corridor. "Jade, how long have we known each other?" she asked.

It was a silly question and one that made Jade give Kitana an odd look. "Almost as long as we've been alive. You know that Kit."

"Yes of course," the Edenian princess replied. "And in all that time I have never, not once, known you to volunteer to teach anyone about magic. In fact you've never taught anyone magic period."

Jade shrugged innocently. "So?"

Kitana stopped walking and the two women faced one another. "Don't play dumb with me Jade," Kitana said. "I've known you too long. And I've seen you looking at him every now and then. Checking him out as it were. There's some attraction there, isn't there?"

Jade smiled slightly and resumed walking with Kitana following her. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't find him considerably attractive and desirable. He's a good man… strong, kind, disciplined, respectful. He's a gentleman, unlike _some_ of the Earthrealm warriors we've had to deal with.

"You mean Johnny Cage and his ten magic come-ons?" Kitana asked.

Both of them laughed heartily. "Yes. That's exactly what I mean." Jade admitted. "Brett is not like that at all. And let's be honest, he's not at all bad looking." She gave Kitana a rather coy look. "Not to mention, he's rather nicely endowed."

Both women felt their cheeks color as they remembered how Brett had first arrived in the palace medical ward… bare assed naked.

"But," Jade went on. "I don't think he's really looking for romance. After all, Li Mei's already making a play for him and he's all but brushed her off." Jade became rather contemplative. "We both know he's been married and it doesn't take a genius to realize that marriage ended in disaster. And I don't think it ended because of him.

"Regardless," Jade continued. "He's been hurt badly in the recent past. And I think a part of him is still trying to come to terms with that. That's why I think he's brushed off Li Mei and why he would refuse any of us as well. Whatever happened between him and his wife is still very raw in his mind. And it hurts him a great deal."

"In that case, maybe the affection and support of a good woman is exactly what Brett needs," Kitana suggested.

Jade couldn't resist. "Then why don't you give him that affection Kit?"

"What?"

This time Jade stopped and faced Kitana. "Oh come on Kitana. Like you said, I've known you too long. You've been looking at him the exact same way I have." She presented Kitana with a wry smile as she repeated Kitana's own words to her. "Checking him out as it were? There's some attraction there, isn't there Kit?"

Kitana turned a deep shade of red as she had indeed been kind of dreaming about Brett in a romantic way. Surely he had to be more fun and attentive to a woman's wants and desires than what Liu Kang had turned out to be.

The expression on the Princess's face was all Jade need to see. She laughed. "That's what I thought Kitana."

Much later that evening, Brett finally closed the book Jade had pointed out to him and assembled his notes. She'd been right. A lot of what he'd read was way over his head. But rather than try to remember all his questions, he'd written them down. Good thing he'd been able to find some paper and a pen of sorts. Looked more like… well he wasn't really sure what it reminded him of. But it wrote when he'd applied it to paper and that's all that mattered.

He yawned deeply and checked the time, silently amused at how Edenia had a 24 hour day cycle just like Earth. Wow, it was just past midnight. No wonder he was tired. Well a decent night's sleep and he'd go see Jade in the morning with his laundry list of questions and 'what the hell are they talking about here' inquiries. He put the book away, gathered up his notes and put out the light. It was odd to be able to do that by just waving his hand over a glowing orb of sorts.

With that, he headed back to Das Hooch, the semi-affectionate name he'd given his suite in the palace. It's what he'd named the very first lean-to shelter he'd crafted as a kid, the name of his first apartment as a young bachelor, his so-called "man-cave" during his so-called marriage to Annette and a few other things. Granted, the Das Hooch he had now was far greater than any other he'd had in the past. Even so, home was home and Das Hooch was Das Hooch. If nothing else, it was his way of creating a small piece of familiarity in a place where nothing was at all familiar to him.

It was during the middle of his reminiscing that he realized he hadn't really been paying attention to where he was going. And in short order, he found himself in an unfamiliar part of the palace. He looked up and down the hall where he was, but nothing seemed to be familiar. Ha. Nothing new there. It wasn't the first time he'd gotten himself turned around in this place, but it was irritating as hell. _Nice going numbnuts,_ he told himself. _How in the hell did you manage this one?_ _That's what you get for not paying attention to detail._

Figuring he had nothing to lose, he kept going straight ahead and made a right turn down another corridor ahead. Unfortunately, the path he'd chosen ended up in dead end shortly thereafter which Brett snorted at. So after a quick turnaround, he moseyed back the way he'd come and tried a different route.

That produced a similar result, and as he got back to the main corridor again, something caught his eye. Curious, he stepped through the doorway that had previously escaped his notice and found himself in a very large music room. Elegantly appointed in red and brown with gold columns and accents, the walls were tapered at one end and the room had a clamshell type ceiling.

Stepping into the room further, Brett put down his notes and looked around. There was a variety of what he assumed were Edenian musical instruments as they had odd shapes and looked nothing like what Brett was used to on Earth. Among the oddities he found was a stringed instrument that resembled some kind of bizarre cross between a harp and a piano. And there was another stringed instrument that looked sort of like a violin. There were several different kinds of lutes, a horn that looked like it might have been based on a clarinet and some kind of a brass type instrument that defied all logic and sense.

But there were others that were somewhat familiar to him and Brett guessed they were Earth instruments donated to the Edenian palace. There was a concert piano, a couple of true violins, two trumpets, a set of Scottish bagpipes, an acoustic guitar, a saxophone, a selection of drums and other percussion, and a handful of others.

Looking fondly at all the musical instruments arrayed before him, Brett thought about his own musical talents. He'd first picked up an instrument when he was a little kid and he'd never looked back. While all his friends were out playing sports, chasing girls or riding their bikes down to the local shopping center to buy baseball cards, he'd been training in martial arts or practicing music.

He knew how to play several different genres and stringed instruments was his specialty. He knew how to play the violin, the guitar, the mandolin, the dobro and the piano. And in a nod to his Scottish heritage, he even knew how to play the bagpipes. But the genre of bluegrass and the 5 string banjo had been his ultimate specialty. To him, it had an upbeat and happy sound that he preferred to the twangy, depressing, 'my dog's left me and my wife's got fleas' type of country music. He couldn't help but laugh. Texas born, living in mid-America suburbia and he preferred the music of Appalachia. Go figure.

Walking up to the guitar, he removed the instrument from its stand and positioned it to play. It had been years since he'd picked up an instrument in this way. Come to think of it, the last time he'd done so was a few years after he'd married Annette. She'd never really appreciated his ability to play and not once had she been happy the two or three times a month he'd gotten together with his friends for a jam session.

Then the divorce and the BS that Annette had smeared his name with happened. All of his so-called friends had distanced themselves from him and Annette had tried to lay claim to every one of his musical instruments just to spite him. She'd gotten most of them in the end, but for sentimental reasons, the judge had allowed him to keep his Gibson Acoustic which he'd named "Kathy", his Les Paul with wine red finish named "Eva" after his grandmother and his Deering Sierra 5 string banjo that he'd named "Roxanne" after his high school sweetheart.

He remembered seeing the boxes they were packed in when he'd first arrived at his uncle's house. Too bad he hadn't had a chance to unpack those instruments before he'd ended up here. _Oh well,_ he thought. _If my family declares me dead, hopefully they'll go to a good home… even if they are worth a few thousand dollars._

With a smile on his face, he gave the guitar a strum, reliving for a brief moment how happy he had been at one time. How everything had seemed perfect in his life. He strummed it again and listened to the sound resonating off the walls. The acoustics in the room were nearly perfect. Oh how he would like to have a jam session of some kind, any kind, right here in this room.

"What are you doing?" a female voice asked.

Brett turned and looked behind him. It was Kitana. He hadn't heard her come in and she'd obviously heard the sound of him strumming the guitar from somewhere. "I…" he began. He frowned. The tone of Kitana's question had been almost identical to how Annette had always asked the same question. _What are you doing? Why are you wasting your time with that?_ And although he didn't believe she'd meant it to sound like that, the question brought back all the unpleasant memories of Annette's lack of respect for who he was.

He put the guitar back in its stand. "Nothing," he said. "I just got turned around trying to get back to my room."

"Wait," Kitana protested. "Do you know how to play? If you do I'd like to hear. None of the other Earthrealmers I know have played music."

Brett however, ignored her and gathered up his papers. "I'm heading back to my room. Good night Your Highness and I apologize if I disturbed you." He was gone before Kitana could say anything more.

She was speechless. "What was that all about," she wondered aloud.

 _Realm of Outworld – Shao Kahn's Palace_

 _Arrival Chamber_

The glowing fires that sat atop the twelve stone columns arranged in a circle, cast a warm glow around the similarly designed large chamber. But the glow was anything but appealing. If anything it made the chamber seem more eerie and foreboding than it already was. Four other massive square stone columns rose up from the floor before turning into horizontal beams and pointing in towards the center of the room twelve feet off the floor.

The beams stopped just short of intersecting one another in a plus sign. Suspended in the exact center of the room between the points of the beams was a whitish silver orb that glowed brightly. On the floor was a large triangle relief pattern with several smaller triangles outset from each edge. Directly under the orb was a hexagonal relief pattern with several shapes and characters that appeared nonsensical, but to those who knew magic, made perfect sense.

The stillness of the room was disrupted by a series of lightning bolts that erupted from the glowing orb and struck the floor beneath. Thin and dull in appearance at first, they grew rapidly in size and intensity until there was a bright overall flash and a figure materialized on the hexagonal relief pattern in the very center of the room.

As the brightness and presence of the lightning bolts faded away to nothing, the demon sorcerer Quan Chi looked around to find the ever present two Tarkatan warriors nearby. They were always there guarding the chamber and as usual, appeared completely unfazed by his sudden arrival. He smiled thinly. Quan Chi definitely preferred this method of travel as opposed to the Dragonfly aircraft the plebeians of Outworld often used because of their lack of magical abilities. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself when he thought of Shang Tsung as a plebeian.

A large man with glowing white eyes and black tattoos covering much of his face approached him. Large and muscular with black spiky armor accented in maroon over much of his body, he had the appearance of a middle aged Earth man, though in truth, he was far older than that. An intense, no-nonsense expression tugged at his facial features and he regarded the appearance of the sorcerer as a necessary, but not particularly welcome annoyance.

"General Reiko," Quan Chi acknowledged with a curt nod.

"Quan Chi," Reiko offered the same terse salutation. "What brings you here this day?"

"I have received a recent intelligence report from our spy within Queen Sindel's ranks," Quan Chi replied. "I think Emperor Kahn will find it most interesting."

"His excellency is very busy planning the upcoming invasion of Edenia," Reiko deadpanned. "He would not wish to have you wasting his precious time."

 _You think I just dropped in here for a chat you oversized buffoon?_ Quan Chi wondered. _I have my own agenda to attend to as well, fool._ "Yes I am aware of that," Quan Chi said patiently. "However, I feel that this intel report I have should be seen by him right away. It could have an effect on how he conducts the operation, either beneficially or adversely."

Reiko would've loved to take his war hammer and smash Quan Chi into a bloody pulp. However, his Emperor did have an allegiance to the sorcerer… even if it was strained at the best of times. And doing the sorcerer in would definitely not keep the general in the Emperor's good graces. "Very well, follow me," he ordered.

Neither man spoke as Reiko led the sorcerer through the labyrinthine halls and corridors of Kahn's fortress. Each man regarded the other with as much contempt as was possible without actually coming to blows. Reiko wished Quan Chi would just go back to the Netherrealm and quit meddling in Outworld's affairs while the sorcerer secretly yearned for the day he could turn his Brotherhood of Darkness on Shao Kahn's forces. Reiko would be his first victim.

After a long walk, the two arrived in the throne room's antechamber. "Wait here," Reiko commanded before entering on his own. That was odd. Quan Chi was not usually told to wait in the antechamber before being taken to Kahn. He wondered what was going on in there. Battle plans? Training? Sitting on his backside? Or maybe he was indulging in his fondness for young women?

Quan Chi was certain that Shao Kahn didn't know that the sorcerer knew of his dalliances. Had Kahn been aware of it, he probably would immediately arrange for Quan Chi's demise. Not that Quan Chi really gave a damn. Whatever Kahn did with his consorts behind closed doors was none of his business. And as the most powerful demon of Netherrealm, he personally had no time for such tomfoolery.

The door opened and Reiko returned. "The Emperor will see you now sorcerer," the general stated flatly.

"Thank you," Quan Chi replied, presenting the brute with the most insincere smile he could.

As he entered, he noticed that Kahn had not been "entertaining" a consort, but rather had been practicing his already formidable combat skill, honing it to razor perfection. His defeat at the hands of Liu Kang and subsequent defeat at the hands of Kitana had infuriated Kahn and he had vowed to never lose like that again. Quan Chi grinned thinly. _If only you knew just how close your day of reckoning was,_ he thought.

With a wave of his hand, Kahn's war hammer disappeared and he turned to face Reiko. "Wait outside General. This won't take long."

Reiko nodded respectfully and excused himself, closing the door behind him.

Shao Kahn returned to his throne and took a seat. "I trust this will not be a waste of my time sorcerer," he grumbled.

"I do not believe it will be Excellency," Quan Chi replied. "However, you did ask to be informed every time our spy made a report."

"I also recall telling you to make sure it would be worthy of my ears sorcerer," Shao Kahn bellowed.

"Yes, that's true," Quan Chi placated the Emperor. "Yet even the most seemingly mundane of reports can conceal hidden benefits. And our spy has made another report concerning the new addition to Queen Sindel's forces."

Shao Kahn did not like being lectured and resisted the temptation to bash Quan Chi's head in with his hammer. _Soon sorcerer,_ he promised himself. _One day soon I'll take great delight in ripping that silly grin right off of your pasty white face._ "Get on with it then," Shao Kahn ordered. "I am in no mood for lectures or platitudes."

"Well Excellency, it seems Queen Sindel's new warrior is a railroad engineer in his everyday life."

Shao Kahn blinked. He wasn't sure he'd heard that correctly. "A railroad engineer?"

Quan Chi nodded. "Yes Excellency. A railroad engineer."

Shao Kahn resisted the temptation to burst out laughing, but he was no less baffled by Quan Chi's report. "Why would Raiden bring such a worthless adversary to help defend Edenia? He must be more desperate than I thought."

"Excellency, I would advise a little caution here," Quan Chi said. "Raiden may be desperate, but he is not a fool. If he saw fit to bring this admittedly dubious choice to help defend Edenia , then he must have some skill in something."

Shao Kahn scratched his chin and looked at the floor in deep thought. What the sorcerer said made sense. But a railroad engineer? It seemed so unlikely it was ridiculous. Maybe that was it. Maybe Raiden was presenting this railroad engineer to them as something to look at because it was ridiculous. If they were kept busy looking at this railroad engineer, they would be distracted and Raiden could give them a real surprise from somewhere else.

He got up from his throne and began pacing back and forth. If this railroad engineer was nothing more than a ruse, what did Raiden really have up his sleeve? Was there a larger defense force stationed somewhere that he didn't know about? As he continued pacing, Quan Chi grew more and more concerned, wondering if he'd just inadvertently saved Shao Kahn's life by suggesting this railroad engineer had some skill.

In the end, Shao Kahn decided that the only way to get an idea of what Raiden was up to was to test Edenia's defenses. "General Reiko," he yelled. "Get in here."

A couple seconds later the door opened and the General walked a few paces inside. "Yes Excellency?"

"Summon Baraka and Mileena immediately and begin preparing a strike team for an immediate raid on Edenia," Kahn ordered. "The three of you then report to me when the strike team is assembled and ready."

"Yes Excellency," Reiko dutifully replied.

He was about to leave when Shao Kahn gave him one more task. "Oh and, Reiko?"

"Yes?"

"Release Skarlet and bring her to me."

"Yes Excellency."


	4. One or a Thousand: Chapter 4

**One or a Thousand, Chapter 4**

 _Realm of Outworld, Shao Kahn's Palace_

 _Shao Kahn's Throne Room_

Quan Chi became greatly concerned by the Emperor's order. Skarlet? Was he going to send her into the field with the raiding party? Up until now he'd only used Skarlet for intelligence gathering and the occasional assassination. Why would he send her in with a raiding party? "Emperor… Skarlet?" Quan Chi asked. "Is sending her wise? I would think that someone of her talents would be more useful in a different capacity." _She'll definitely be of more use to me alive than dead,_ he secretly thought.

"She is my finest enforcer," Shao Kahn reminded him as he took his seat on the throne. "She serves me and me alone. She goes where I tell her to and on whatever mission I choose."

"But she's an assassin," Quan Chi pointed out. "She is better suited to striking from the shadows than direct one on one combat. A raiding party seems to be a waste of her talents." _Not to mention her life if she gets in over her head._

"I'm aware of what her talents are," Shao Kahn growled. "And have no intention of letting them go to waste no matter how I choose to send her into combat."

"But Your Excellency…"

Shao Kahn cut him off. "Quan Chi, I will remind you that Skarlet is my creation and it is my decision to use her talents however I see fit. I would hope that you are not stupid enough to continue this pointless debate with me."

Quan Chi could see that Shao Kahn was starting to get irritated and that if he didn't back down now, there would be unnecessary trouble. "No Excellency," he relented.

"Good," Shao Kahn replied. "Was there anything else you wished to discuss with me?"

"No, Excellency," he said.

"Then you are dismissed with my gratitude," Shao Kahn rumbled as he waved the sorcerer off. Quan Chi made for the door, his mind already in motion. He knew he had to move fast to do what he felt he had to in order to preserve Skarlet's life and his interest in the bloodthirsty assassin. He had to get back to his fortress and send a message to Shao Kahn's spy in Sindel's ranks at once. He only hoped the spy got it before Skarlet was sent into the field.

As Quan Chi departed, Reiko arrived with Skarlet in tow. They glanced at one another but made no other acknowledgment of each other.

"Ah, Skarlet my dear," Shao Kahn said upon seeing her. "Welcome." As she stopped several feet in front of the throne, he turned to Reiko. "That's all General. Carry out my instructions as you were previously ordered to do. And you will forget that Skarlet was ever here Reiko."

Reiko offered a slight nod to the Emperor. "As you command Excellency."

Shao Kahn's general departed and Skarlet made a slight bow. The Emperor made an appropriate show of gratitude though in truth, he couldn't have cared less. As long as she did what he ordered her to do, that was all he cared about. "I have instructions for you Skarlet," Kahn told her. "I trust you will not disappoint me."

"No Emperor," she said.

Shao Kahn smiled. She spoke very little and then only when it was necessary. "I am sending a raiding party to Edenia to test their defenses. It is imperative that this be done so that I may get a better understanding of how to overwhelm them when we invade."

"Am I to go with the raiding party?"

Shao Kahn shook his head. "Not directly. I do however, want you to tail them and watch what's going on. I am counting on Raiden and or Queen Sindel to send reinforcements once they learn of my raiding party's presence. Look for any surprises that Raiden, Queen Sindel or anyone else following them may be hiding. I've got a feeling they're going to try to surprise us somehow. But I don't know exactly how they intend to do that and that's what I'd like you to find out."

"Yes Emperor."

"Reiko, Baraka and Mileena will be leading the raid," Kahn explained. "You must make sure that they do not see you, especially Mileena." He knew that Mileena would be very upset with him if she were to discover that Skarlet had been sent as backup. "If you must strike, strike from the shadows. Mileena cannot ever learn that I sent you. Do you understand Skarlet?"

"Yes Emperor," she replied.

"Good," Kahn replied. "Prepare yourself. You leave right after the raiding party does."

As Skarlet departed, Shao Kahn thought about his decision to send Skarlet. He was sure he'd made the right move but there was an inherent risk with it. Not the he doubted Skarlet or her abilities. It was Mileena he was concerned about. He was already starting to question her loyalty to him. If she happened to discover that he had no trust in her, it could cause a rift to develop between them which could then lead her to turn against him.

Still, to gain every advantage he could over the Edenians, it was worth the risk.

 _Realm of Edenia – The Royal Palace_

 _Palace Library_

Brett rubbed the bridge of his nose as he tried to digest everything he and Jade had been talking about. Shortly after breakfast the following morning, he'd gone to her with all the notes he'd made the previous night. And as a result they'd spent the past few hours in the palace library while she'd done her best to address his questions. It was mildly frustrating at times, but Jade had kept in mind that Brett had been brought up in a culture that put almost no emphasis on magic whatsoever. Add the fact that all of this was still very new to him and that there were bound to be problems along the way.

It still seemed overwhelming and he didn't know if he'd ever understand all, or any, of this. As he looked over his notes, along with the additional ones he'd made while Jade had been instructing him, he shook his head. Different schools of practice and what differentiated one form the other? How the hell was he ever supposed to master this?

According to Jade, there were nine fundamental disciplines of magic, each discipline governing over a different set of abilities. There was Abjuration which focused on defensive and protection spells, like the "Cancel" he'd displayed against Johnny Cage during their match yesterday. There was Conjuration which dealt with summoning creatures and materials as well as teleportation. Divination which focused on knowledge and healing. Enchantment which was all about mind affecting spells and enhancing certain traits in the recipient or, in darker incantations, controlling the mind of the recipient. Evocation focused on magical attacks such as the energy ball Johnny Cage had thrown at him or Sub-Zero's Ice Blast abilities. There was Illusion which focused on altering the perceptions of others or creating false images, some of which could be dangerous. Necromancy which dealt with the manipulation of life energy and the dead. Transmutation which was similar to Enchantment except they enhanced or cursed the physical traits of the recipient. And finally there was Universal, which was the least understood discipline of them all. Brett thought it all sounded like something straight out of Dungeons of Dragons but this was no role playing game.

His head was spinning as he thought it all over. What had he gotten himself into with this? Oh wait, he hadn't exactly come to Edneia voluntarily. That was the problem. But he had promised Uncle Yama to make the best of this. Even so, he occasionally wondered if he'd promised Uncle Yama more than he could handle.

Jade chuckled as she could see his distress. "Is it getting a little too much for you?"

"A little," Brett confessed. "Still, if I can learn how to drive a train, I can learn at least something about all this hocus-pocus stuff."

Jade looked at him quizzically. "Is driving a train difficult?"

"Not really," Brett replied. "But you have be constantly thinking two to five minutes ahead of the train; two to five minutes ahead of where you are at any given moment. You cannot always react to situations as they pop up; you have to plan for them well in advance. Not always possible, to be sure, but you have to do what you can."

"I don't understand," Jade confessed.

To illustrate what he was getting at, he handed Jade an apple that he'd fetched from the kitchen during an earlier break. "How much would you say that apple weighs? Half a pound? A pound tops?"

Jade felt the fruit and bounced it in her hand a couple time before setting it back down. "Yeah, I guess."

"Let's say a pound," Brett said. "Now imagine thirty million of those apples. Thirty million pounds. An American freight train can weigh that much."

Jade whistled in amazement. "That's heavy."

"Extremely heavy," Brett acknowledged. "Now picture all those apples, those thirty million pounds confined to an area no more than ten feet wide, no more than sixteen feet tall and stretched as far as it can go until you run out of apples."

Though she had never been to Earth before and had never seen a freight train she could get a general idea of what he was talking about. "Wow," she said. "I bet that would stretch from here to the other end of the palace."

"No," Brett said. "That would stretch from here to the other end of the palace and back four or five times over," he told her.

Jade's eyes nearly popped out her head. "That long?"

"Oh yes," he replied. "I used to see them at those lengths all the time. Last thing to consider. Imagine all that weight in the long, confined space moving at say, sixty-five miles an hour. Now if the engineer has to stop in a panic, how far do you think all that weight is going to travel from the instant he slams on the brakes to when it finally stops moving?"

"I don't know," Jade admitted. "But I'm going to guess it would be pretty far."

"You're right," Brett said with a grin. "Now do you kind of understand why I said an engineer has to always be thinking two to five minutes ahead of where he is at any given moment?"

Jade nodded. "I think so."

"If an engineer waits to do something, it's too late," Brett said. "He's got to initiate his plans well ahead of where they actually need to realize their full effect. If he doesn't, minor inconveniences or major catastrophes can result. Kind of like this whole magic thing I guess. Constantly think and plan ahead. Anticipate what you need to do in advance. Act now. Receive the benefit later."

Jade pursed her lips as she thought over what Brett said. There was a certain amount of logic to it, but maybe he was being a little too simplistic. Time would tell for sure. "Is that what happened to you?" she asked. "Regarding the accident you have yet to tell anyone about?"

Brett nodded with a heavy sigh. "Sort of," he replied. "As I said, you cannot always react favorably to impending immediate situation. You follow every procedure and every rule to the letter. You make every danger warning as you're supposed to. You do everything in your power to avoid the catastrophe. And yet, you know you can't stop it. Despite all of your efforts, your wishes, your prayers, the catastrophe is unavoidable. And you accept it despite the fact that you know it will haunt you from now until the day you die."

Jade looked at him sympathetically and placed a friendly hand on top of his. "I don't know what happened to you Brett. I don't know what haunts you and maybe I never will. But whatever it is, please believe me when I say, I'm truly sorry that you carry such an obviously heavy burden."

Brett offered her a slight smile in return. "Thanks, I appreciate it. Shall we break for lunch?"

"Sure."

Before they could get up from the table, Kitana and Masamune dashed into the library. "Uh, I'm afraid lunch is going to have to wait," Masamune said.

"Yeah," Kitana added. "We just got an alert from the village of Bexbran. Outworld forces are attacking it. Tanya of course is already there, but she's overwhelmed. Nightwolf, Li Mei and Bo-Rai Cho are headed to the scene with a couple dozen warriors they could scramble. But I'm sure they could probably use some palace backup as well. Report puts the Outworld force at close to a hundred." She looked at Jade. "How many troops can we gather right now?"

"A couple dozen or so," Jade replied.

That wasn't many but it would have to do. "Roughly twenty-five to thirty troops plus the four of us and Liu Kang," Kitana mused. "Mother will have to stay behind to make sure the palace isn't left unguarded. Better than nothing. Let's go."

Masamune looked at Brett. "Ready for your baptism of fire so to speak?"

"As ready as I'm going to get," he replied honestly.

 _Realm of Outworld – Shao Kahn's Palace_

 _The Throne Room_

With Reiko, Baraka and Mileena all gathered before him, Emperor Shao Kahn outlined his plan to all of them. "The time for our invasion of Edenia draws near. Therefore it is imperative that we start testing their defenses, learn their strengths… and their weaknesses. To that end, I am sending a raiding party to the village of Bexbran in the Hoppenfast Hills region. You three will lead the party. I want you to cause as much disturbance as possible."

"But Emperor," Baraka said. "Won't creating that much commotion and destruction alert Sindel and her forces?"

It took everything in Shao Kahn's being not to bash the Tarkatan over the head right then and there. "Yes, you dimwit, it will. As I just said, we're trying to test their defenses. We want Queen Sindel and Princess Kitana to respond!"

"Oh," was all Baraka's feeble mind could come up with for a response.

 _Oh I wish I didn't have to rely on such grossly incompetent fools to carry out my wishes,_ Kahn mused.

Mileena laughed in that trademark childish chortle of hers. "Ooooooh, I'm looking forward to seeing my sister again. Ahahahahahaha!"

"That may be Mileena," Kahn stated. "But if you encounter her, you are not to take her out yet."

Mileena looked hurt. "Awwwwww, why daddy?"

 _Like I said, I wish I didn't have to rely on idiots and fools,_ Kahn thought. _Especially when one of those fools is my own daughter!_ "Because Mileena, if you take her out now, everyone on Edenia will know she's dead. Then there is no way you could secretly take the throne and make my second invasion and conquest of Edenia easier."

"Okay daddy," Mileena pouted. "If you insist."

"I wouldn't have ordered you to do otherwise if I didn't insist," Kahn raged. "None of you had better forget the real reason why we're conducting this little raid! It's to see how fast Queen Sindel's forces respond to the disturbance and with how big of a force! Only with this kind of information will we be able to accurately judge what kind of obstacles we will be facing when we launch the full invasion! More raiding parties like this will be sent to Edenia in the near future, so you'd better not screw this up! If you do, I can promise you that my wrath against you will be both quick and excruciating!"

"We understand Excellency," Reiko placated, trying to get Kahn to calm down just a little. "How deep do you want us involved in this raid?"

Kahn understood what Reiko was getting at. "Once the Edenians respond, back off a bit. See how well they fare against the raiding party. If the party starts getting overwhelmed or if you are attacked yourself, you are to immediately retreat back here to the palace. Do not; I repeat do not, unnecessarily waste my forces by conducting counter offensives that could backfire on you. Hold back and observe. Study how the Edenians are working together. Look for any weaknesses we may be able to exploit later. But the minute the battle goes against you, retreat immediately."

Mileena didn't understand why "daddy" was being so cautious. "But why daddy? Why should we pull back when we could find ourselves on the brink of taking out several of sister's key allies?"

"Because I said so damn it!" Kahn roared. "You are to follow my commands! Not question them!" He angrily waved off any further protestation from his daughter and turned to Reiko. "Have you assembled your strike team?"

"Yes Excellency. It will consist of forty Tarkatan warriors, an equal number of standard warriors and twenty rank and file Black Dragon warriors as heavy backup if needed," Reiko stated.

Kahn nodded. The "standard warriors" that Reiko had referred to were little more than forcefully conscripted Outworlder citizens. "Very well. You may depart immediately. Do not fail in your objectives."

"Of course not Excellency," Reiko responded with a bow.

"We will make you proud daddy," Mileena added.

Baraka elected to just keep his mouth shut, but bowed anyway.

As the three of them departed, Kahn outstretched his hand which began to glow a sinister looking gray. A travel portal between Edenia and Outworld opened against the left wall. Satisfied that it was stable, he turned towards an area of shadow on the right and gave a single nod. With that signal, Skarlet emerged from hiding and walked through the open portal towards an unknown, yet inevitable clash with destiny.

 _Realm of Edenia – Hoppenfast Hills Region_

 _Village of Bexbran_

The scene at the village of Bexbran was one of utter chaos when the Edenian defenders arrived. Tarkatan and Outworld soldiers ran rampant through the village dragging people screaming from their homes and businesses. Buildings were set ablaze and left to burn to the ground while many of the citizens were slaughtered just because, "they had dared to stand against their true Emperor."

Brett had seen sights like this in Iraq and Afghanistan on several prior occasions. At the moment though, he could remember none of them as he was feeling a little queasy from the trip through the transportation portal he'd just taken. Oooooh, his head was spinning bad. _Easy stomach,_ he told himself. _Don't turn over now._

Kitana, Jade, Masamune, and Liu Kang were all horrified at the wonton destruction being wreaked by the Outworld forces. "My God, they'll destroy the village," Jade exclaimed.

"Over my dead body," Kitana yelled as she drew her war fans.

One of the few dozen Edenian troops they'd brought along shouted. "We stand with you Your Highness!"

"Right!" Liu Kang agreed.

Kitana's eyes narrowed in anger. "Then let's send these filthy scum back to where they came from!" With a triumphant shout of victory, the Edenian troops, led by Kitana and Liu Kang, charged into the fray.

As the battle started to unfold around them, Masamune noticed a flash of yellow out of the corner of his eye. With a quick glance, he saw Tanya a short distance away battling a run-of-the-mill Outworld trooper but was about to be surrounded by others. He turned to Jade and pointed. "We'd better help Tanya there."

Jade nodded. "Right."

He then glanced over at Brett and noticed he was in trouble. "You still with us?" he asked.

Truth be told, at the moment Brett was certain he'd left half of his body and perhaps his breakfast back at the palace. He shook his head to clear it and glanced back at the dissipating transportation portal. "Wooo… beam me up Mister Scotty," he joked somewhat unhappily.

Now it was Jade's turn to look at him. "What?" she asked him.

"Forget it," Brett replied. He was now finally able to take stock of what was happening all around him… and it was revolting. An expression of extreme disgust swept over his face as his mind was immediately taken back to the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. "Holy shit," was the only phrase he could utter. A second later he got his first look at a muscular looking brute with a bald head, pointed ears and a mouth full of long, sharp teeth arranged in a permanent sinister looking smile. "What the hell is… that?"

"That is a Tarkatan," Jade told him. "Their race was conquered by Shao Kahn so long ago they don't really remember what their culture was like before they were conquered. They are led by Baraka who answers to Kahn. They are quick, very strong, have long blades growing from their arms that they can retract at will and they are rather savage in nature. That being said, they're not terribly bright either."

"Ahahahahahaha," someone laughed aloud. Brett looked to see a woman dressed in a revealing purple, black and gold outfit standing on a nearby roof. She had matching forearm pads, thigh high boots and a veil that covered her nose and mouth. "So," the woman giggled. "My sister and her friends finally show themselves. How nice."

Using her war fans, Kitana sliced the throat of an Outworld trooper and kicked the body away. "Mileena!" she shouted upon seeing the purple clad woman. "What are you doing here? Blindly following the Emperor's orders as always?"

"Ohhhhhh," Mileena tauntingly moaned. "Wouldn't you like to know dear sister?"

"I am NOT your sister!" Kitana screamed defiantly.

Brett leaned towards Masamune. "Is that really Kitana's sister, Uncle Yama?"

"Sort of, though Kitana will never admit it," he said. "Mileena is a clone created by the sorcerer Shang Tsung. He used Tarkatan and Kitana's own DNA to create her."

"Wonderful," Brett griped. "Too bad this Shang Zero didn't clone Kitana's personality and soul as well."

Kitana overheard Brett's comment and couldn't help but smile under her veil.

It was then that Mileena noticed there was someone new among Kitana's forces. "Oooooooh, fresh meat," Mileena said as her eyes lit up. She pointed at him and turned back to her sister. "Who's this dear sister? A new playmate for you?"

Kitana merely glared at her with unmitigated hostility.

"Oh, poor sister," Mileena mocked. "Still so sad. Still so alone." She sighed. "Still holding out the ridiculous hope that Loser Kang will sweep you off your feet?"

"I'll show you who a loser is," Liu barked.

Mileena whistled and as soon as she did, Reiko and Baraka appeared on separate roof tops. She pointed at the Edenian defenders and yelled, "Attack!"

The situation devolved into further chaos from there with Tarkatan and Outworld warriors attacking from all sides. Though the Edenian troops fought bravely and held their ground, the brawl was degenerating into a bloody stalemate rather quickly as casualties were inflicted on both sides. An Outworld warrior lunged at Kitana with a sword but she batted it aside with her fans. Cracking him across the face with a spinning kick, her opponent stumbled back, then countered at her with a downward slash.

Quickly closing her fans, she raised them over her head to block. As her opponent's sword rang against them, she lashed out with a kick and smashed him in the groin. The Outworld trooper was lifted off his feet a couple inches. Following up on her advantage, Kitana delivered a hard backhand to the side of her opponent's head before planted her hands against his chest and tossing him into the air.

Leaping back and away from him, Kitana cast a blue energy ball at him which collided with his chest and he groaned painfully. She finished him by throwing one of her fans at him. In the blink of an eye, it sawed him in half and Kitana landed gracefully, catching her returning fan as she did.

Another Outworld warrior attacked Liu Kang with a spear, thrusting at his head and hoping for a quick kill. Kang easily dodged the feeble attack and quickly stepped as the warrior retreated and swung the weapon and Kang's legs. The Shaolin Monk hopped over the attack, outstretched his hand and sent a fireball hurtling at the Outworlder.

His opponent swatted the flaming missile with the blade of his spear. Turning to his right, the Outworld soldier swiped at Liu's neck, but the monk stepped forward and with a well-placed strike, broke the wooden shaft of the weapon as it closed in. The blade half of the spear clattered uselessly on the ground.

Seeing his weapon destroyed, Liu's opponent tossed away the other broken piece and ducked low to avoid the kick Liu aimed at his head. As he did, he swept Liu's feet out from under him and the monk went down on his back. With the advantage now shifted, the Outworlder went for the death blow, only to have his fist contact the ground as Liu rolled away.

Getting back to his feet, Liu slammed a kick into the goon's chest and he stumbled back. As the Outworlder tried to gather his senses, Liu twisted to his right and clobbered his adversary with a backhand to head. Liu's opponent grunted once and passed out, falling hard to the ground.

While this was going on, a Tarkatan warrior clad in an olive drab sleeveless tunic stepped up to challenge Brett. He laughed incredulously and assumed a ready stance, the retractable blades normally thinly concealed in his arms, snapping forward. "Ready to be cut to ribbons, fresh meat?"

Brett raised his sword in salute and assumed a guard stance. With a gesture of his fingers, he challenged the brute to make a move. "Attack me if you dare," he said.

Enraged the Tarkatan brute charged forward, intent on ripping Brett to shreds in seconds. A fast swipe came down at his head, which Brett avoided followed by a quick stab. Brett parried it to the side and took a swing at the brute's throat. He evaded the attack easily and swept his left blade low at Brett's legs. The former railroader parried again, catching one of the Tarkatan's arm blades in the grooves on the thick edge of his sword. With a twisting turn, he pushed the Tarkatan away as he retreated and waited for his opponent's next challenge.

The Tarkatan snarled angrily and leaped at Brett. Rearing back, he stabbed at Brett with a blade and when that missed, slid it down the length of the other blade creating a magical spark. The tiny ball of energy flew at Brett and seemed certain to hit him in the head. At the last second though, he took a leap of faith and swung his sword. His hope paid off as he just caught the red glow out the corner of his eye an instant before the blade connected and the energy dissipated.

The Tarkatan tormenter was stunned at seeing his magical projectile stopped like that and he blinked in disbelief. Brett merely shrugged and smiled. "I may be new to this place, but I've already learned a few tricks." He settled into a defensive posture again. "Want to try again?"

For an answer, the Tarkatan brute roared at him and rushed forward, hacking and slashing at Brett every which way he could. As he backpedaled from the ferocious assault, it took all of Brett's speed to stay on top of him and dodge what he could and parry what he couldn't. Jade was right, these guys were quick. If he didn't figure something out soon, he was as good as dead.

Near one of the village saloons Li Mei, her teacher Bo-Rai Cho and the Apache warrior and shaman known as Nightwolf, were facing their own group of Outworld aggressors. As the leaders of Edenia's forces in the area, they had responded to the Outworld assault first. And it showed as roughly half the squad they'd brought with them was now dead or wounded.

An Outworld soldier swung a heavy broadsword at Li Mei and she parried it left with her own short blade. She then surprised the Outworlder by delivering a cartwheel kick to his chin that launched him backwards and carried Li Mei out of his attack range. Settling into an open stance, she held her sword in a high guard and waited for the next challenge.

As he used his magical tomahawk to deliver the death strike to a Tarkatan warrior, Nightwolf noticed an unfamiliar ally battling another Tarkatan. "Is that the new warrior Raiden summoned? Masamune's student?" Another Outworlder swung a clumsy punch at the Apache warrior. He countered by bringing his arm down and rushing forward, ramming his new opponent with his shoulder.

The Outworlder was back on his feet in a second and he threw a poorly timed red energy ball at Nightwolf. Seeign it coming, Nightwolf called out, "Ancestors, give me strength!" Immediately, his entire body glowed green. When the red magical energy ball hit him, it was reflected right back at the caster. Wide eyed in fear at seeing his attack turned against him, the Outworlder had no time to react.

Hit by his own projectile, the elemental fire energy behind it caused the Outworlder's body to be instantly set ablaze. Shrieking in terror, he pawed at the flames covering him in a futile attempt to put them out. But all he succeeded in doing was to fan them and make them more intense. A few seconds later, he fell and his screams abruptly died.

Li Mei made a quick glance at the person Nightwolf pointed out as a Tarkatan closed in on her. "Yup, that's him," she confirmed. "That's Brett Hudson."

"Interesting," Nightwolf contemplated.

"Hope he knows what he's doing," Li Mei's teacher, Bo-Rai Cho said. A short, portly man with a long brown hair and a bushy mustache and beard, Bo-Rai Cho's fighting prowess was overshadowed only by his penchant for good booze. He parried the backhanded punch of an Outworlder with his own arm and knocked him senseless with an elbow strike to the face. "Meh… he should do fine if Masamune has trained him."

At that exact moment, the three of them witnessed Brett move between two rushing Tarkatans allowing them to skewer each other to death with their arm blades. Li Mei smiled. "Yeah, he seems to know what he's doing." She then batted her eyes a bit as she dispatched another Outworld warrior. "He's really handsome too."

Bo-Rai Cho and Nightwolf could only roll their eyes as they'd both had to deal with Li Mei's raging hormones more than once. "Oh brother," Nightwolf said quietly.

At that moment, there was a loud blast from inside the saloon. Walls and windows were blown out and a cloud of dust covered them. Just as quickly, a large fireball engulfed the tavern and it began to burn fiercely. Bo-Rai Cho stared in horror as the building began to burn to the ground. "Aw dammit!" he yelled. "That was the best bar in town! Now where am I going to get a good beer?"

Ticked off at the loss of one of his favorite drinking establishments, the portly martial arts master zeroed in on his next opponent, an Outworlder wielding a sword. As Shao Kahn's minion swung his blade high in a decapitating strike, thinking he had an easy kill against the fat man, Bo-Rai Cho's true agility and prowess was displayed as he weaved low to his right under the whistling blade. Using his momentum, Bo-Rai Cho snapped his opposite foot around and cracked his opponent in the head as the blade missed.

Dazed from the hit, the Outworlder stumbled forward only to be grabbed by Bo-Rai Cho from behind and flipped over the large man's shoulder. He landed on the ground with a hard thud and coughed. Looking up, the Outworlder witnessed Bo-Rai Cho launch himself into the air and come down hard, butt first, on his face. With a ground shaking whump, the Outworlder was sent to dream land and Bo-Rai Cho rolled forward off the man and got to his feet.

Admiring his handiwork, Bo-Rai Cho trumpeted, "That was a crusher, wasn't it?" He began scanning for his next challenger. "Who's next?"

"How about this guy," Li Mei suggested as she kicked a dazed Tarkatan Bo-Rai Cho's way.

He accepted Li Mei's "gift" and hammered a solid punch into the Tarkatan's mouth, breaking several of his sharp teeth. Taking a step forward and grabbing the Tarkatan by the face, he pushed backward and sent the dizzy warrior tumbling back over his knee. Bo-Rai Cho then then stomped on the head, cracking the skull. "Perfect," he said.

With her magic staff extended to full length, Jade cracked another Tarkatan warrior in the face with her trademark, Triple Smack. With the toothy warrior dizzy, Jade followed up with an upward swing that sent the Tarkatan flying into the air. Using her magical abilities, the Edenian general launched herself into the air and brought her staff over her head, smashing the Tarkatan back down to the ground.

Landing gracefully, Jade executed her Shadow Kick, her entire body glowing with a green hue as she glided several meters along the ground and drove her elegantly shaped leg into the forever grinning face of the Tarkatan who was struggling to stand. Further dazed by Jade's kick, he never saw her wind up and swing her staff as hard as she could into his side. The hit lifted him off his feet and sent him flying dozens of meters away.

Brett was momentarily distracted by Jade's hit and the Tarkatan's hurtling form. "Oh yeah, full extension," he said. He then heard the Tarkatan crash land into an unseen pile of wood and who knew what else. "Home run baby."

Jade regarded him with an odd expression. Home run? What was a home run? She didn't time to think it over as her next opponent challenged her.

Brett realized he'd been distracted too long and he sensed a sneak attack coming. Stepping sideways from his current Tarkatan foe just as he executed a lighting fast thrust. Brett instincts saved him as a second Tarkatan coming at him from behind also thrust an arm blade at him. But with Brett no longer where they expected him to be, the two Tarkatans ended up skewering and dying on each other's blades.

"Pay attention Brett," Masamune lectured. "Get your head in the game." Having delivered his message, he faced off against his opponent, an unarmed Outworlder. His foot shot forward at the aged master and Masamune weaved to his right and simultaneously parried the attack. His opponent followed up by stepping forward and spinning to his left with a backhand.

Masamune's own hand shot out and hit the Outworld's arm hard enough that it forced him to retreat. But he immediately countered with a fast chop at the throat. The old martial arts master weaved back away from the assault and as the Outworlder's hand sailed harmlessly by his neck, Masamune reached out and grabbed him by the ears. Yanking downward, Masamune's knee shot up and slammed into his opponent's chin, breaking several of his teeth and leaving him dizzy. Pivoting to the left, Masamune slammed his opponent on the ground and delivered a hard punch to the back of the head, knocking the Outworlder senseless.

With his opponent down for the count, Masamune drew his sword. It was almost identical to the one that Brett wielded only Masamune's had a dark, wine red cloth band wrapped all around the handle. Bringing it to a two-handed mid guard, he scanned the area for his next challenger.

Nearby, Tanya waved her hands in an intricate pattern and a large glaive appeared in them. Although it had magical properties, it was of simple design with a black handle and a finely polished silver blade. Spinning it over her head, she reacted to her first Tarkatan attacker by angling the weapon in a downward slant. His arm blade rang against the blade of the glaive and Tanya flicked it upwards in an attempt to disembowel him.

Her blade missed by mere millimeters and her Tarkatan foe tried to lunge in closer. Tanya however, backed up a couple steps and kept her opponent at bay. Scraping his blades together, the Tarkatan warrior hurled a spark of energy at her. Tanya ducked out of the way and swung her weapon low, but her opponent hopped over the weapon.

It gave the Tarkatan a chance to close the distance and he swiped and stabbed as fast as he could at Tanya. Despite her weapon's seemingly cumbersome appearance however, Tanya was able to maneuver it faster than one might normally expect. She vertically parried the Tarkatan's left blade and quickly turned the weapon to her right, swatting his second blade down and away.

Shoving against the brute, Tanya force the Tarkatan backwards. With the grace of a dancer, she spun around and brought the blade of her weapon up over her head and back down in a vicious slash. It chopped into the Tarkatan's head and split him open from cranium to sternum. With that, she withdrew the blade and kicked the body away.

Another Tarkatan warrior with both arm blades extended had decided to challenge Brett and was quickly finding out that this "new, fresh meat" was not going to be a pushover. He swung his left blade at Brett's throat and thrust with his right, but the former railroader parried and dodged both attacks easily. Suddenly turning, Brett hammered an elbow strike right into the Tarkatan's face. Bright lights popped in his field of vision as his nose was shattered and he stumbled backwards.

As blood flowed freely from the wound, the Tarkatan yelled in pain and smeared some of it on his fingers. Brett assumed a low guard and waited. Determined to take "this new fool" out, the Tarkatan warrior snarled in anger and went after him, swinging and lunging at him furiously. But his movements were disconnected, crude and overextended. Back pedaling towards the inn with each successive attack, Brett parried or dodged each one, making his opponent angrier and angrier.

 _That's it chump,_ Brett thought. _Follow me._ _Keep getting pissed._

From her vantage point atop the roofs, Skarlet watched battle unfold beneath her. Emperor Kahn's forces had exacted a heavy casualty toll of the Edenians, but they were starting to rally and give back as good as they were getting. She saw several faces she recognized including Princess Kitana, the Mortal Kombat champion Liu Kang, Nightwolf, and Outworld defectors Li Mei and Bo-Rai Cho. She couldn't see anyone else from where she was, but from the sounds of it, she knew several other Edenian leaders were present.

She debated in her mind who to strike at first. Well that decision was easy. At the moment, she couldn't strike at anybody. Not without revealing her presence anyway and Emperor Kahn had been very clear in his orders… don't be seen.

An explosion rocked the building she was hiding atop and a jet of fire suddenly burst through the roof, nearly incinerating her. Damn! What the hell had those idiotic Tarkatan grunts done this time? She felt the wood of the roof start to buckle and splinter under her feet. The whole building was coming down! Spinning fast on her feet, Skarlet ran like the wind and vaulted off the collapsing structure to the safety of another nearby roof top.

Landing hard, she rolled on her side as a cloud of dust from below rose up and began to settle on top of her. She coughed a couple of times and tried to get her bearings. Ooooooh, those damn Tarkatans! If she discovered who'd blown that building out from under her, she'd drink every drop of his blood!

With the stealth expertise of a panther, Skarlet crawled towards the edge of her new vantage point and witnessed Bo-Rai Cho's butt crunching assault on a hapless Outworlder. She rolled her eyes shook her head. Skarlet couldn't imagine a more humiliating way to be taken out of a fight than to be crushed under someone's backside.

At least now that she was constantly scanning for an optimal place to attack and remain hidden, her mind was occupied. This meant that she wasn't focused on the mystery man who still haunted her dreams and disrupted what little sleep she was able to get. Even so, her head felt a little foggy and she knew she wasn't as well rested as she should be.

Moving again, Skarlet leaped across a wide alley between two buildings and landed on the roof of a general store. Scooting to the far corner, she found herself overlooking a decent sized courtyard below. There was a six story building on the far side and a horse stable just off to the right.

She realized that she was looking down into the courtyard of the local inn. This was a good place for her to ambush anyone unlucky enough to enter it. Glancing around, Skarlet didn't see anyone else nearby. Even the inn itself appeared to be empty. Not surprising considering how widespread Emperor Kahn's troops had ransacked the village prior to arrival of the Edenian defenders. Here she could maintain Kahn's order to stay hidden and at the same time, take out targets of opportunity.

Taking stock of the surroundings before her, there was a large fountain near the back entryway of the inn, several walking paths lined with neatly trimmed hedges, a garden with numerous trees and flowering plants, a few artistic statues made of stone and several tables with intricately decorated canopies shading each one. She decided that's where her ambush point would be. Fortunately, it wasn't that far away from where she was currently perched.

All she had to do now was be patient. With the sounds of battle raging on nearly every street, she figured it would just be a matter of time before someone happened into the courtyard. And when they did, she would pounce and taste their blood. If all went well, it would all happen while the others remained ignorant of her presence.

As if the Elder Gods were smiling on her, she heard the sounds of a sword fight getting closer to her hiding place. A Tarkatan and an Edenian locked in combat emerged from the back door of the inn, into the courtyard. As they came into view, the Tarkatan was backpedaling towards her, but with two lighting quick moves, their positions changed. Now the Edenian was moving in reverse, his back to her with the Tarkatan pursuing him. Skarlet smiled to herself. Oh this was almost too easy.

She decided to entertain herself a little bit and watch the fight progress. Even with his back to her, the Edenian seemed to know where the fountain was, and maneuvered around it. The Tarkatan slammed one of his arm blades against the fountain and the Edenian spun away from it, kicking the Tarkatan into the water as he did. He was facing her now, but damn it, she was too high to see the Edenian's face and he was looking down at his adversary to boot.

The Tarkatan lunged from the water and the Edenian turned and sidestepped the clumsy attack. Once again, the Edenian's back was to her. That was good. She may not know who it was, but she didn't care. As long as he kept backing towards the tables, he was all hers. She could almost taste his blood on her tongue now.

A few more seconds went by and the Edenian got the upper hand on the Tarkatan, twirling around the Tarkatan and following up with a beheading strike that found its mark. Perfect. He was right below her now and he was looking at his downed adversary. She still couldn't make out the Edenian's face but what did it matter? This would be simpler than she thought. She unsheathed one of her kodachi swords and readied herself.

"What do you say handsome boy," another female voice said from below. "Wouldn't you rather play with me than my boring old sister?"

 _Damn it,_ Skarlet thought angrily. Of all the people to challenge her prey! Not her! Not now! Not that crazy, mentally handicapped Mileena! Quickly she ducked to where Mileena couldn't see her and muttered a stream of curses. Now she'd have to wait until the Emperor's nutcase of a daughter was done playing with the Edenian. And even then, she'd only get her chance at him if he somehow managed to defeat Mileena.

She heard the Edenian mutter some kind of insult to Mileena which she didn't take to very kindly at all. And as Skarlet heard the battle begin between the two she sulked. She felt like she'd been robbed, robbed of her chance to satiate her craving for blood. She had a half a mind to challenge Mileena to a fight, assuming she beat the Edenian man Skarlet had targeted.

Skarlet peered over the edge of the roof at the dueling pair. The Edenian man still had his back to her and Mileena was too fixated on him to notice Skarlet's presence. Oh well. She'd told herself earlier she needed to be patient. She could be patient some more and wait for the outcome. And if the Edenian happened to lose, she could always take her frustrations out on a Tarkatan or two.

As the battle dragged on, the Outworld assault team was slowly starting to lose its advantage over the Edenians. More than half of the raiding party had been eliminated and it was starting to get on Mileena's nerves. Especially that new warrior Kitana had on her side. Mileena had been watching him like a hawk. He'd already taken out two Tarkatans and three Outworlders.

Despite what "daddy" had told her, she had no intention of just turning tail and running away. Not when there still so much fun to be had. And she was going to have that fun with that fresh meat she'd been keeping an eye on.

Mileena turned to Reiko on an adjacent rooftop. "Summon the Black Dragon reserves," she ordered. "Have them start engaging my sister's forces immediately."

Reiko however, knew that Mileena had waited too long to bring the reserves into play. The battle was already turning against them and to bring the reserves up now would likely result in more needless casualties. "Milady," he protested. "The battle is already going against our forces. His Excellency ordered us to retreat when that happened. We must pull back now, or we risk further losses."

Mileena was nonplussed. "I do not care what daddy said," she screamed. "If we press forward we can take out several of sister's closest allies! We will therefore attack and attack and attack until we have done just that."

"Millady…" Reiko began.

"General Reiko," Mileena warned. "When daddy is not present, I am in charge! Therefore what I order is what I expect to happen. Now summon the reinforcements!"

Reiko rolled his eyes, careful not to let Mileena see how disgusted he was with her decision. "Yes milady," he said resignedly. He turned and looked behind him. Letting out a loud whistle, he made a forward motion with his arm.

"Good," Mileena sneered. "Now General, I suggest you get down there and help our troops… unless you want me to label you a coward in front of daddy. I'm going after that fresh meat I saw."

With that, Mileena hopped down to the ground, leaving Reiko to roll his eyes once more. Oooooh if he ever got the chance to rip that silly twit's head from her body, he'd relish every second of it. He glanced back at Baraka who was standing there, unsure of who to obey… Mileena or the Emperor.

"Um… uh…" Baraka said nervously.

Reiko solved his dilemma for him. "Fall back and make sure the portal back to the palace is open and stable. I have a feeling this is going to end in disaster very quickly."

"Yes General," Baraka said, thankful that Reiko had come with a plausible excuse for him to ignore Mileena's order. Her mental state was unstable enough normally. But when she was ignored, it went completely off the chart.

Following Mileena's example, Reiko hopped off his perch and calmly walked over to challenge the nearest person he could… Master Masamune. The Outworld general knew him well though they had never faced each other in combat before. "Well, well… Yamato Masamune," he sneered.

Masamune knew Reiko's reputation as well. "General Reiko," he regarded him with utter contempt.

Reiko wasn't one to engage in a lot of unnecessary conversation. He dropped into a fighting stance, angled his muscular body towards Masamune and his combination axe / war scythe appeared in his hands. "Let's just get on with it, shall we?"

Masamune shrugged and slid into a battle stance of his own, his sword held in a high guard. "Suit yourself."

Reiko attacked first, lunging at Masamune and driving him backwards, then swiping at him with the long, curved blade of the scythe. Masamune angled his blade down and deflected Reiko's attack harmlessly aside and countered with a reverse swing at Reiko's chest. Turing to his right, Reiko went for a decapitating swing that Masamune backed away from.

With the blunt end of his weapon, Reiko thrust forward and smacked Masamune in the face, causing him to stumble. He quickly followed up with a vicious upward swing, but the aged master retained just enough of his senses to get out of the way. The Outworld general then swung the pointed end of the scythe blade at Masamune's head, but he raised his own sword and guard against it. As he continued to back away from Reiko, he made a circular motion with his sword, sweeping the Outworld general's weapon away.

With a hard kick to the chest, Brett drove the Tarkatan warrior he was battling straight through the closed door of the village inn. It splintered under the impact of his body and he fell to the floor. Inside, several occupants cowered behind tables, chairs and other pieces of furniture but the two combatants paid them almost no mind. Brett went for the death strike, thrusting his sword at the downed Tarkatan's throat, but he rolled away and the point struck the stone floor.

Getting to his feet, the Tarkatan swung an arm blade wildly at Brett's head. He parried it to his left and stepped away as his Tarkatan adversary lunged with his other arm blade. He was slightly off balance and Brett kicked him in the chest again, dumping him over the inn's check-in desk.

Though he landed with a hard crash, the Tarkatan was on his feet again in a hurry and charging at the former railroader as he moved down a long, central hallway towards the rear of the inn. Swinging a right cross with the arm blade extended, the Tarkatan tried to skewer Brett's head on it. But he only succeeded in driving the blade through a nearby wall. With an angry snarl, the Tarkatan made a swiping motion with the same blade at Brett's stomach, taking out a significant portion of the wall as he did so.

Brett batted his opponent's blade aside even as wood and other materials from the now ruined portion of the wall peppered him. He then parried the Tarkatan's second arm blade down to the left and spun away with his momentum, creating additional distance between him and the enraged Tarkatan. As the fight continued down the hall, Brett started hearing gunfire outside. _Great,_ he thought. _Where the hell is that coming from?_

Again the Tarkatan lunged at Brett and with a lightning quick movement, the former railroader pivoted to his left and avoided the strike. At the same time Brett turned and slammed his elbow into the back of the Tarkatan's head sending him stumbling forward. Dazed from the hit, the Tarkatan made a wild swing behind his body, but Brett had anticipated this and did not try to follow up from his elbow strike.

Brett cautiously advanced his sword at the ready, while the Tarkatan retreated out the back door, down a couple steps and into the courtyard. As he reached the top of the steps, the Tarkatan swung his arm's blade low in an attempt to chop off his feet. With flawless execution, Brett vaulted over the blade and the Tarkatan, landing behind him. Immediately he turned and swung his sword at the Tarkatan's neck, but he was out of range.

He didn't have much time to reset himself as his Tarkatan opponent made two quick strikes at him. Brett dodged the first and deflected the second. As he did, he looped his blade around, stepped forward and lunged at the Tarkatan. The maneuver caught his opponent unaware and Brett shoved him backwards. The Tarkatan stumbled back, tripped over the low wall and ended up in the fountain.

Brett wisely backed away as the Tarkatan came leaping out of the drink angrier than ever. But before his opponent could attack, Brett went on the offensive making several quick stabs at him. The Tarkatan blocked each one, the sounds of metal ringing against metal echoing in the confines of the courtyard. Brett backpedaled and made several more quick stabs, keeping his opponent at bay while he set himself up for he hoped would be the deciding blow. Holding his sword in a high-guard he challenged the Tarkatan to attack.

The enraged beast took the bait and with an angry shout, rushed him. Brett stood his ground and let the Tarkatan come his way. Determine to hack and slash his opponent to death, the Tarkatan raised both arm blades for the final strike. At the last second, Brett turned to his right and parried the left hand blade. With Tarkatan's momentum carrying him forward, he drove the right hand blade into the stone object of art that was behind Brett.

Before he knew what was happening, Brett completed his 360 degree turn and the sharp edge of his sword passed cleanly and effortlessly through the Tarkatan's neck, separating the head from the rest of the body. The head bounced away and the body twitched violently, slumping to the ground with the arms blade still embedded in the stone.

Brett stared down at the corpse and spit on it. "Better luck next time," he mocked.

"Ooooooh," he heard a female voice say behind him. "Well done honey." He turned to see Mileena had appeared in the courtyard. She put her hands on her hips and wiggled them as seductively as she could. "What do you say handsome boy," she taunted. "Wouldn't you rather play with me than my boring old sister?"

Oh brother, he thought. This one definitely needs a mental adjustment. "No thanks," he rejected. "The last thing I need in my life is another psychotic wacky woman."

That outraged Mileena and she pulled her veil down, exposing her ever-grinning Tarkatan features. "How dare you talk to me that way! I am a royal personage! I am the daughter of Emperor Shao Kahn!"

If she was hoping to intimidate him through her visage or words, Mileena was sorely disappointed in the results she got. "In that case then Smiley, may I suggest you not settle for anything but the finest dentist you can find," Brett insulted. "And uh, maybe the finest plastic surgeon as well."

Mileena was furious and her sais appeared in her hands. "Why you…" she screamed. "I'll devour your face!" Thoroughly enraged, she leaped at him and tried to drive her sais thought the top of his head. She missed by a long shot and immediately went into her trademark, Tele-Drop maneuver. Suddenly teleporting above him, Mileena tried to drop kick Brett in the face and knock him senseless. He narrowly weaved away from her as she missed.

Mileena lashed out with a kick at Brett's head which he maneuvered away from and she then reared back and sent her sais flying at Brett. Whistling through the air, Brett swatted them both aside with a single swing of his sword, only to see them disappear in mid-air and reappear in her hands. He clicked his tongue in frustration. He was really starting to hate this whole magic thing.

Reiko swung his axe viciously at Masamune's and although the aged master got his sword up in time to block, the sheer force of the hit pushed him backwards. Following through, Reiko snapped his foot up and cracked Masamune in the face, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground. The Outworld general spun his weapon over his head and brought it down, but Masamune was just able to roll out of the way.

Reiko followed with an upward slash as Masamune got to his feet. The scythe blade passed mere inches from his face and he took the opportunity to lunge at Reiko when the weapon was at the apex of its swing. The Outworld general was not taken for a moron though and he stepped back, swinging the axe blade down as he did. Masamune's sword was nearly ripped from his grasp as Reiko batted it down. But the aged master held on and retreated back to ready stance.

He was in trouble and he knew it. Reiko was powerful to be sure, but he was also incredibly fast. A lot faster than Masamune had expected. And with a weapon like the one he was wielding, Reiko was most dangerous at long range. He'd have to crowd Reiko and wear him down in order to beat him.

With a snarl, Reiko swung his scythe blade at Masamune's feet and he hopped forward over it. Landing on his feet, Masamune was less than a foot from Reiko and he proceeded to shoulder ram him in the chest followed by an elbow strike that threw the general off-balance. He tried to use his advantage, but Reiko recovered quickly. With Masamune's sword coming in for a mid-level slice, Reiko angled his weapon vertical and blocked it with the long handle. Shifting his weight, he cracked Masamune across the jaw with the butt of the weapon and pushed him back.

Now at long range again, Reiko brought his weapon to a high guard and raised it horizontally over his head. Masamune thrust his sword forward and Reiko angled his weapon down to block it. But the attack was a feint and Masamune changed direction, going for a low swing at the general's legs. Reiko had planned for this though and he quickly swung his weapon up, slapping the sword out of the way. Both men spun around past each other and ended up facing each other again, opposite of where they had been a few seconds earlier.

Not far away, Jade could see that Masmune was having a tough time against Reiko. But with three Tarkatans and two Outworlders surrounding her, she couldn't break away to help him. She hammered one Tarkatan in the face with her staff and immediately planted one end in the ground. Executing a spin around the pole, she cracked an Outworlder in the chest and sent him tumbling to the ground. Landing gracefully, she pulled staff out the dirt and swung hard, smashing a second Tarkatan in the head. Thrusting back, she heard a pained yelp as her weapon pounded the third Tarkatan in the groin. But even as she set herself in a guard stance, the first Tarkatan she'd smacked had already recovered and was making his next move.

Kitana also saw that Masamune was in trouble, but like Jade she was contending with more than one adversary and was in no position to offer assistance. An Outworld soldier swung a broadsword down at her head. Raising her closed fans in an X pattern, she caught the blade in between them and quickly deflected it to the left while she stepped to her right. An instant later a second Outworlder missed his thrust at her back.

Ducking low, Kitana tripped the assailant up with a leg sweep causing him to fall flat on his face. She unfurled her war fans and swept them across her body creating an energy wave that knocked a pair of Tarkatans backwards that had been advancing on her. She thought she'd given herself an opening to get away and help Masamune, but that theory vanished in an instant when she smelled another Tarkatan behind her and turned to face him.

"Hang on Masamune," she called to him as she parried her new opponent's right arm blade and sliced him across his upper arm.

"I'm holding on as best I can," Masamune responded as he parried Reiko's scythe. The Outworld general snapped his weapon up and went for a decapitating strike that Masamune barely avoided. _Keep holding on old boy,_ he told himself.

Brett ducked to avoid Mileena's sai as it whistled past his head. He countered by bringing his sword down at her head, but she caught it between the points of her other sai and guided it away from her. As she did, her sharp, pointy teeth lashed out him in a ferocious biting attack. Lucky for him, he'd moved out of her range before she could sink her teeth into him.

What the heck? Was this crazy woman actually trying to eat him? _Like hell I'm about to become a bitch snack,_ he thought. Assuming a defensive stance, he challenged Mileena to try again.

She obliged by rolling forward and trying to knock his legs out front under him. He hopped over her as she rolled under him. Landing, he turned and parried the sai that she stabbed at his stomach before following through with a solid punch to her head that sent her stumbling backwards. As she staggered backwards, Mileena swiped at Brett's face with one blade, but he'd wisely chosen not to press forward.

Instead he waited for Mileena to complete her wild swing before lunging forward and driving her back further. In defense she stabbed alternately at his head with both weapons, but the attack was a feint. After the second stab, she wheeled her left leg around in an overhead drop kick. As it missed, she disappeared in a flash and went for her Tele-Drop again.

This time Brett was a little better prepared for it. Catching her foot in mid-air, he pushed back and threw her away from him. Her body hit the ground with a hard thud. Dazed, she shook her head in desperate attempt to clear it as Brett advanced.

From her vantage point above, Skarlet continued to observe Mileena and the Edenian fight it out. The Edenian male impressed her. While she'd hardly been surprised that he'd defeated the Tarkatan he'd faced, this Edenian grunt was holding his own against Mileena quite well. They moved so quickly though and she had to duck every now and then to ensure Mileena didn't detect her presence. Because of that, Skarlet still could not make out the Edenian's face.

The Edenian drove Mileena back into the stable and that's where Skarlet lost sight of them. She could hear their weapons banging against one another and the increased agitation of one or two horses inside. Skarlet decided to risk being spotted by Mileena so she could get a better look at what was happening. She dropped down into a corner of the courtyard that was opposite the entry to the stable, but still afforded her a glimpse.

Unfortunately, it wasn't that good of a view as the stable was largely dark. She could see two figures moving around inside and the occasional spark from when their weapons collided. Skarlet could also hear the growing agitation of the horses inside until she heard a loud crack inside the stable followed by a moan and the sound of a body hitting the floor.

It was over. Someone had just bested the other. But who had bested who? Remembering Shao Kahn's order to stay concealed, Skarlet leaped back to the rooftops in case it was Mileena who emerged from the stable. Patiently Skarlet waited.

It was the Edenian who eventually emerged from the stable, seemingly unhurt and at least reasonably unscathed. She smiled thinly, silently thanking the Edenian for besting Mileena. Now Skarlet would have her moment. And she looked forward to tasting this Edenian's blood. As the Edenian began heading back towards the main building of the inn, she back-flipped off the roof.

With a thrust, Brett drove Mileena up the short flight of wooden steps and into the stable. As she backpedaled, her mind raced. This piece of fresh meat was no pushover. Where had sister discovered him? No matter. Once she ascended to Edenia's throne, she'd make him her personal slave. Maybe she'd make him a sex slave. He was kind of cute after all.

Brett hated that he'd forced this fight into an area where horses were kept. He could already hear they were starting to get restless and scared from the constant banging of weapons around them. But he had an idea and if it was going to work, this was the only place it could. He parried Mileena's high thrust and swept her sai to his right. As soon as he did, he hammered a kick to her chest and drove her back further.

Snarling in anger, Mileena stabbed down at Brett and when he blocked the attack, tried to bite him again. He backed away from her and thrust at her twice before going for an overhead strike. She again caught his blade in between hers and the both stepped past each other, trading positions and withdrawing their weapons from the engagement.

This was where Brett wanted to be. The horses were getting even more disturbed by the sounds of battle around them. One was even frantically pulling on the rope that tethered him to the stable wall, desperately trying to break loose and bolt. If that happened, the horse would be in a panic and who knew what would happen then. Brett knew he had to end this now and get out of the stable while he still could.

Mileena thought victory was hers. With Brett all but forced completely against the stable's back wall, she could almost feel her teeth sinking into his flesh. Laughing like a like girl, she swiped at his face with one sai and lunged at him with the other, intending to go for the death strike with her gaping maw of fangs. In her haste, she failed to notice the distressed horse to her left.

He dodged the first sai and parried the second up over her head and around to her left side. And when he did, Brett brought the flat edge of his sword down where he's been planning all along… right on the horse's backside. It had the desired effect. With the horse so irritated and jumpy, Brett knew the slightest touch would cause the horse to react. And it did, kicking out hard with both back legs at the threat it couldn't see.

Its metal shoed hooves smacked the first thing that got in their way… Mileena's head. A pained moan escaped her lips and she was thrown hard against the far wall with a crash. And with that, she slumped to the floor unconscious.

Though Mileena was out, the horse that knocked her senseless was still kicking and baying and doing everything it could to protect itself. It forced Brett to crawl as low as possible on the stable floor to get by it. Once clear, he stood up again and made his way out of the stable. Brett was a bit winded and he took a moment to catch his breath. The fight against the Tarkatan had been intense enough but the fight against Mileena had gone a few steps beyond that.

He could still hear the sounds of battle coming from the streets. As far as he could tell though, the only way to get back to them was to backtrack through the inn. Was this how it was every day on this planet? He had no idea but he wasn't going to find out by standing here doing nothing. He'd been separated from the others long enough. He had to get back.

Brett was halfway across the courtyard when yet another warrior decided to challenge him. Another female vaulted off the roof and landed between him and the back door to the inn. Her back was to him and she had crimson red hair tied in a simple tail that flowed half way down her back. It matched the slightly darker outfit she wore which was the skimpiest one he'd seen on any of these new women thus far.

Even so, she obviously wasn't there for a social call and Brett rolled his eyes. "What am I," he muttered. "A shit magnet?"

She grabbed the handles of both her kodachi swords that hung at her back. She'd overheard his comment and couldn't help but utter an amused chuckle. "Shit magnet hmm? I've been called worse." Deftly, she pulled both swords from their scabbards and whirled around to face the Edenian she'd been watching for some time now.

And with that, a loud gasp of astonishment escaped Skarlet's lips.


	5. One or a Thousand: Chapter 5

**One or a Thousand, Chapter 5**

 _Realm of Edenia, Village of Bexbran_

 _The old inn courtyard_

Skarlet's eyes widened to an almost unnatural size and she swore her heart must've skipped two or three beats. She couldn't believe it but it all matched. His face, his hair, his build, his height, his eyes, even the stubble that grew from his face, it all matched perfectly. It was him… the unknown man who'd been haunting her dreams for weeks now.

For a split second, Skarlet wondered if she was dreaming again but she promptly dismissed the idea. This was no dream and the man in front of her was no image or conjugation of her mind. He was real. Flesh and blood. As she soon as she realized that, she smiled under her mask. Oh the Elder Gods had smiled on her. She would finally get to taste the blood of this… this fiend that robbed her of her sleep.

And yet even as she prepared herself to taste his blood, she couldn't help but run her eyes up and down his body. It was very well proportioned and his arms looked strong and powerful. She found the way his light brown hair was teased by the breeze to be very alluring. And his eyes… oh they were beautiful. The deepest blue she had ever seen.

Skarlet still couldn't quite believe that this "specter" that had haunted her now for weeks was finally standing before her. She had a lot of questions for him. So much she wanted to know and yet all she could manage to say at that moment was an amazed, "Y-you!"

Brett looked to his right and then back to his left. No one else was nearby. He pointed to himself. "Me?"

She could barely speak. "You… you're…"

Brett shrugged and readied himself. "I'm what?"

Skarlet shook her head furiously. First she was stunned that this mystery man was now actually in front of her. Now she was taken aback by the fact that her heart was racing. The more she looked at him, the more Skarlet felt she had never seen a more attractive looking man in her short life. It almost seemed a shame to kill him. But even as she thought about tasting his blood she sensed something odd about him. She couldn't explain it, but there was some kind of energy around him, an aura of sorts that she'd never felt around anyone else before. What did that mean?

Skarlet wasn't the only one with a racing pulse. The instant she'd turned around to challenge Brett, he'd immediately been struck by her beauty. Despite his ex being a brunette, he'd always had a weakness for red heads and Brett couldn't remember ever seeing a woman with redder hair than the woman who stood before him now. He imagined women on Earth spending thousands of dollars to get their hair looking as red as hers did naturally. And her body… so lean, so trim, such beautiful curves and generous endowments. Her eyes… she had the most beautiful gray eyes. He could stare into them forever.

All of the women he'd met on Edenia so far showed a fair amount of skin when it came to their style of dress. But with a short loincloth that barely covered a black thong and a red top that was functionally little more than perhaps a slightly oversized bra, no one showed more skin than this curious red headed fighter. In addition to that she had thigh-high red boots, arms and shoulder guards, a ninja style half-face mask red in color with a black stripe over her nose and four kunai daggers strapped to her right thigh.

Damn it all to hell. Why did she have to be so attractive? What had he done to make the universe, in its infinite insanity, want to always dump a load of crap right on his head particularly in the past couple of years? Why was the most attractive woman he'd ever seen in his life, his enemy? It didn't seem fair and yet given his recent past, it seemed ironically appropriate.

All of these thoughts of shock, bewilderment, attraction and frustration went through their minds within a matter of seconds. With that, they remembered they were adversaries, on opposite sides of the war. She served Shao Kahn and he served the cause of freedom.

The expression of shock left her face and her eyes narrowed. For a second, she thought of drawing her second kodachi but decided not to, at least not yet. Gripping her unsheathed blade in a reverse grip she said, "Tonight, I will rid myself of my demons."

Brett assumed a close guard. "Give it your best shot, Red."

Skarlet initiated the battle by turning and making a fast slash at his face. He weaved away from it and countered with his own slash at Skarlet's side. Her blade was there to meet it and she parried it away following up with a leg trip that Brett hopped over and rotated away from. Skarlet didn't give him a chance to reset, stabbing quickly at his chest. He caught her weapon on the grooved back edge of his sword, pushed it aside and slammed a boot into her chest, forcing her back.

She stumbled, but recovered quick and settled into low guard. He advanced on her, swinging his sword in an upward slash. Her blade easily met it and she pushed down, forcing him to back off. She then raised her sword and blocked his overhead attack, twisting slightly and obliging them both to change positions.

Once again from the ready, Skarlet advanced on Brett with a furious series of short strikes and slashes. Backpedaling away from her, Brett dodged and blocked her assault as quickly as she delivered it. His final parry was a little wider than it should've been and Skarlet took the opportunity to return the earlier favor by smashing a palm strike into his ribs.

Grunting in pain, he faltered backwards and immediately had to raise his guard to prevent Skarlet from slicing him across his stomach. With a flick of his wrists, he maneuvered her blade aside and they assumed ready positions again. Skarlet didn't wait and she attacked with two fast up and down slashes. Brett dodged the first slash and parried the second, turning as he did and kicking Skarlet right in her backside. She pitched forward and fell to the ground.

In an instant, she was back on her feet and turned to face him again, expecting him to be coming straight at her. But he held his ground and patiently waited for her next challenge. _He's better than I thought,_ Skarlet said to herself. She smiled under her cloth mask. His blood would taste wonderful. "You're good Edenian," she complimented.

"As are you Red," he returned. "Only I am not an Edenian."

Skarlet was surprised. Not an Edenian? What was he then?

Before she could find out Brett spun towards her, striking with a low cut at her thighs as he closed in. Skarlet quickly deflected his attack and countered with a high slash of her own that he instinctively ducked under. They traded a few more attacks and deflections before Brett brought his blade down in a hard overhead hack. Skarlet raised her own blade horizontally to block and with a loud clang, their blades locked and sparked against one another.

Now with only inches separating them, they were nose to nose, each of them trying to force the other one back down. And yet as they did, their eyes betrayed a growing mutual attraction between them. It was unlike anything either of them had ever felt before.

 _You have such a pretty face,_ Brett thought.

 _You have such beautiful eyes,_ was what flashed through Skarlet's mind.

They pushed away from each other and Skarlet changed tactics, employing her Blood Ball attack against him. Summoned from the nearby body of the Tarkatan Brett had beheaded earlier, it was exactly what it sounded like… a magical ball of blood she could use against an opponent. With a flick of her wrist, she let it fly, expecting that it would knock him to the ground where she could easily finish him off.

She was sorely disappointed with the results she got however. As he swung his blade at the bloody missile, she watched his hands and sword glow bright red as they connected. With a brilliant scarlet hued flash, the Blood Ball literally dissipated into nothing and he angled his sword downward as if daring her to try it again.

Skarlet was dumbfounded as she'd never seen anyone do that before. But her shock quickly abated and she deftly plucked two of her kunai from her thigh and hurled them at Brett. He swung his sword in a upward motion and it glowed white, sending Skarlet's kunai right back at her. Only her lightning fast reflexes saved her from being killed by her own attack and the little daggers embedded themselves in the back wall of the inn.

He rushed her and delivered multiple slashes, pounding away at her defense. His blade seemed to be everywhere at once and she just barely protected herself from the onslaught. She parried a strike of his high, then shifted her momentum and slashed down, only to have him block her counter. As he did, he turned to his left, grabbed her by the head and neck and flipped her over his hip. She crashed to the ground and quickly rolled out of the way of the stab that he'd aimed at her throat.

Brett winced as Skarlet got to her feet. _Damn I wish I didn't have to do that,_ he thought.

Once again facing him, Skarlet held her weapon in a high guard. _Such strong arms,_ she thought. _I wonder what it would be like to be held by those arms instead of thrown by them._

She charged him again, swinging low at his feet. It was deflected and she retreated briefly before swinging again at his chest. Again, it was blocked and they both turned back to back. Each of them thought the other was attacking and they both raised their swords to guard their rear. What resulted were their blades locking in an X pattern behind their backs.

Both of them turned and tried to force the other off balance, but it was a stalemate. Knowing he couldn't see her, Skarlet again smiled under her mask. She'd never faced an opponent this skilled before and she was loving every second of it. "Who are you?" she demanded. "Where are you from? What is your name?"

He snorted. "What's it to you?"

They continued to turn around each other with their blades locked behind them in some sort of bizarre combat dance. "I have never faced an opponent like you before stranger," she confessed. "You have earned my respect and perhaps even a bit of my admiration. Before I am forced to destroy you, I would ask that you respect me by telling me who you are and where you come from."

Had he been battling anyone except this curious lady in red, Brett probably would've laughed off their request. As it happened however, he felt strangely compelled to grant it. "I am Brett Hudson of Earth," he said. "Student of Master Yamato Masamune."

 _Brett, hmm? I like that name._ Skarlet smiled again. "You honor me stranger. I thank you for that."

The stalemate ended and they pushed each other away. As the duel resumed, Skarlet chopped high at Brett's neck. He parried and stepped to his right, circling his blade around hers as he moved. She pulled her blade back as he thrust forward and she spun around once, disappearing in a red cloud.

Instinctively knowing what was happening, Brett rolled forward an instant before Skarlet reappeared behind him a few feet in the air. She descended towards him and stabbed at his back but by then, he was already out of range. He got to his feet and Skarlet swiped at them, hoping to cut them off. But he flipped to his left and landed on the short wall of the fountain.

Reacting to Brett's move, Skarlet sliced upwards, trying to get him off the ledge. But he simply back flipped and put more distance between them. She then stabbed at his knees and he parried her to the left, trapping her blade against the inside edge of the fountain wall. "Your turn," he said. "Who are you?"

Skarlet eyed him somewhat coyly. "And why would I do that?"

Keeping her blade pressed against the stone, he replied, "Turnabout is fair play Red. I respected you enough to tell you my name. I expect the same in return."

She nodded once. "I am known as Skarlet. Chief enforcer to Shao Kahn, Emperor of Outworld."

 _That's a beautiful name,_ he thought. Brett clicked his tongue. "Skarlet, huh? It's shame your abilities are wasted serving a madman. You could be so much more than what you are."

"So could you," Skarlet countered.

"I'd rather die than be a slave," Brett rebutted.

Skarlet pulled her blade back and settled into a defensive stance. "That can be arranged Brett," she said, though even as she spoke the words, she felt a sharp stinging sensation in her soul. As if she was speaking the words, but not really meaning them.

"Like I said, give it your best Skarlet," he retorted.

Masamune made a low block to his left, just stopping Reiko's axe blade before it could cut him in half. Pushing the weapon away, he backpedaled towards the ruined saloon, looping his blade around Reiko's weapon as he moved. Reiko made a quick stab at the aged master and quickly followed with a backhanded swing from the scythe blade. Masamune jumped out of the way, turned and lunged at Reiko but the Outworld general raised a vertical guard and pushed Masamune's sword aside.

Pressing the advantage, Reiko slammed his foot into Masamune's chest and he tumbled to the ground. Raising the war scythe over his head, he brought it down hard but Masamune rolled out of the way just as it struck the dirt. He got to his feet and was immediately forced to parry a strike at his head, spinning around as he did and shoving Reiko back.

Even as he continued to battle the Outworld general, Masamune knew he was slowly being worn down and overpowered. Though he'd been mildly aware of his age starting to catch up to him for some time, it was only now that he truly realized he wasn't a kid anymore and he certainly wasn't the forty year old master he had been when he'd met Brett thirty some years ago. And with that realization, Masamune resolved to fight to bitter end, no matter what the outcome was.

Reiko smiled evilly at the aged master. "You are nothing but a pathetic weakling," he laughed. "I expected so much more from you Master Masamune. You disappoint me."

He attacked again and Masamune quickly moved to defend himself. "Strike me down if you dare Reiko," Masamune taunted. With his own sort of wicked smile he added, "If you do, you will unchain an engine of death and destruction on a scale so massive that even your feeble mind can't begin to comprehend it."

"Enough of your blathering!" Reiko screamed. "Now, meet your fate!" Snarling with rage, Reiko advanced on Masamune and hacked at him with all his might. The elderly master blocked and dodged the furious assault for all he was worth, yet it still drove him back.

Reiko was on him in a second, mightily swinging his war scythe at him from multiple angles. Masamune continued to give ground to him, trying to stay out of the general's range. But no matter how far back he got, Reiko closed the distance quick and pressed his assault.

Turing to his right, Masamune backpedaled towards the inn as a bullet whistled past him. Last he'd seen, Brett had been chasing a Tarkatan through its doorway and he assumed Brett was still in there somewhere. With his breathing as labored as it was, he knew he was in a moment of desperation. Without help, there was no way he'd be able to defeat Reiko now and he silently prayed he and Brett could take him together.

The bullet that had passed close to Master Masamune had actually passed closer to Reiko and it infuriated him even more. Those damn Black Dragon thugs had no discipline whatsoever. And in his mind those firearms they used were weapons of cowards, even if Emperor Kahn had them at his disposal and planned to use them.

Not for the first time, Reiko thought that if he was Emperor of Outworld there wouldn't be any need for the Black Dragon or the weapons they possessed.

Elsewhere, Kitana hissed angrily as another bullet tugged at the folds of her long loincloth. As the fight continued to unfold, she'd moved closer to the building where the town's council regularly met. Because of this, she could no longer see Master Masamune, though she figured he was still in trouble. And now these Black Dragon goons were firing at them. She rolled her eyes. What was next?

A Tarkatan warrior lunged at her with an arm blade and she dodged it to her left. Before the Tarkatan could counter, his life was brutally interrupted by a shot from an assault rifle being wielded by a Black Dragon clan member a short distance away. Waving her fans in an upward motion, she created a magical vortex that spun the Black dragon member into the air.

As he flailed his arms about, trying to get control of his rotating form, the vortex disappeared and gravity took over. Still flailing about helplessly, he slammed into the ground near the ruined tavern. He tried to get up only to have a meaty fist pound him in the back of the head and send him to dreamland. Bo-Rai Cho took a step back and flashed an "OK" sign at Kitana, thanking her for the delivery.

Nearby, Liu Kang and Nightwolf were back to back facing a horde of Tarkatans and Outworld troops on all sides. Both of them knew Masamune was floundering against Reiko and needed help. But their own opponents were keeping them busy. Liu Kang knocked one Tarkatan down with his fireball attack while Nightwolf cleaved another in half with his tomahawk. But even as they fell, there were more to challenge them and the damned gunfire was keeping them off balance.

Jade too was highly aware of Masamune's plight but she was still dealing with her own issues in the form of three Tarakatans who wanted to cut her to ribbons. Even so, there was one chance to help Masamune. Transferring her staff to her left hand, Jade's triblade appeared in her right. A boomerang type of weapon with three curved blades spaced equidistant around a central disk, she was a master of its use.

One of the Tarkatans moved in for an attack and Jade drove him back with her staff. She then spun her staff once around her head, stunning all three Tarkatans momentarily. With that, she planted the staff in the ground and turned to her right, using it as a fulcrum. She then let the triblade fly hoping it got to Masamune in time.

Masmune sliced low at Reiko's thigh, but he held his war scythe vertical to block it. The Outworld general then turned his weapon and swept it at Masamune's head. The old master barely ducked under it as the bladed whistled over his head. He thrust his sword forward at Reiko, but again his weapon was batted uselessly aside.

As Reiko parried the weapon, he backhanded Masamune across the face, then turned and slammed his foot into the old master's chest. Masamune staggered backwards and was immediately pounded by a shoulder ram from Reiko, bluish white energy encasing his armor just before the attack hit.

Although he was dazed from the blow, Masamune fought on, stabbing his sword at Reiko's stomach twice. The Outworld general parried both attempts and heard the faint but distinct sound of Jade's triblade approaching. Masamune brought his sword down at Reiko's head. With quick, flipping motion, Reiko blocked it and smacked Masamune in the face with the pommel of his weapon. Stepping forward, he held his weapon horizontal and smacked the aged master in the face with it.

As Masamune staggered backwards some more in a daze, Reiko spun to his right, swinging the scythe blade as he did.

Brett angled his blade at a downward slant, blocking Skarlet's overhead slash. With a clang of metal, he shoved hard and heaved her backward before retreating to a high guard. She didn't let up, stabbing and slashing at him as fast as she could move her sword. And yet, he moved his just as fast and met her strike for strike.

She went for a slice at his face and when he deflected it, tried to push forward with a lunge. But he simple twirled the opposite direction out of the way. Immediately, she countered with a slice at his side but his vertical parry halted it before it got close. Taking advantage of the opening, she kicked him in the chest and he fell over backwards.

Rolling to his knees he raised his defense as her blade came down for the kill. He pushed it aside then used his hand to take Skarlet's legs out from under her. With a pained grunt, she crash landed on her rear end. Flipping back to his feet, he assumed a mid-guard as she did likewise.

She smiled. Usually her fights were quick two or three slashes, maybe a kick or a punch or two and it was over. Never in her short two and half years of life had she been in a prolonged fight like this. It was exhilarating. But was it thrilling because of the way this Brett Hudson was testing her or something else entirely?

As she looked at him during the brief lull in the battle, Skarlet felt her knees weaken a bit. He was a fine martial artist and warrior but even so, there was still something incredibly disarming and appealing about him. And in those few seconds she found herself wanting to touch him. Not so she could attack him or hurt him. Just… touch him.

The thoughts of softness and affection left her mind almost as quickly as they entered it and she went on the attack again. She sliced at his thighs and when that was defended against, shifted attack angles to attack his opposite side. Their swords crossed in front of them and Brett propelled her backwards. The blood warrior immediately spun around once and disappeared as she had before.

Knowing she would reappear behind him, Brett took evasive measures, turning away from the spot where he thought she would appear. He was off by an inch or two and it gave Skarlet an opportunity to thrust her sword out and pull back, making a slight gash along his left shoulder. He hissed angrily in pain and stepped further away from her.

Skarlet smiled happily when she saw the trace of blood on her sword. Ah, she would finally get to taste the sweetness of her tormentor's blood. Pulling her mask down, she revealed her gorgeous face to Brett and brought the sword to her mouth. Sticking out her tongue, she ran it up the blade expecting to savor the sweet taste of his blood as she did.

But something happened that Skarlet could never have anticipated. As the first drops of Brett Hudson's blood touched her taste buds, her eyes widened in shock. And shock quickly turned to revulsion as she pulled the blade away from her face. She felt sick and her stomach started heaving. And even though she spat out what she had tasted, it didn't stop her from violently vomiting on the ground.

She looked down at her sword and then back at him in disbelief. What the hell was this? His blood was so foul and vile tasting it boggled the mind. She couldn't remember tasting anything more disgusting than what had just touched her tongue. There weren't any words to accurately describe its awfulness. She couldn't help herself and vomited again, though not quite as violently as the first time.

Brett couldn't help but find the whole scene mildly amusing. He chuckled and said, "Well, Annette always used to tell me I was hard to stomach. Never thought she was right quite that literally though."

Skarlet was not amused. "Who are you?"

Brett readied his sword again. "I told you… I am Brett Hudson of Earth." He went on the offensive, swiping at her stomach and then lunging at her chest. Skarlet parried the thrust and was surprised when Brett got the drop on her. With a flick of his wrist, he slammed his blade against hers, dislodging it from her grasp.

As it clattered on the floor, Skarlet thought of going to her second blade. But she didn't have time to draw it. Brett went for a slice across her chest and when that missed, made a quick thrust at her. She quickly spun to her left and brought her hand down on his forearms, ripping his sword from his hands.

Now with both of them disarmed Skarlet delivered a fast punch to Brett's face. Dazed he stumbled backward but kept enough of his senses to counter with a leaping kick to her left shoulder. He followed with a punch to her face and cursed himself royally when it connected. How could he hit such a lovely looking face? Oh yeah, she was trying to kill him.

He started a motion that made Skarlet think he was going for a spin kick and she ducked low. But the foot never came up and she realized it was a feint. The real attack was a right cross that Skarlet guided harmlessly aside and she tacked on a fast kick at his groin. He shifted his hips slightly and her foot slammed into his thigh making him sore, but not incapacitating him.

 _Damn he's good, even without his sword,_ Skarlet thought.

She aimed a crushing chop at his neck that he slapped aside with a palm strike. This was followed by a second chop from the opposite direction that met with similar results. She connected on a quick right punch to his face, hitting him just below the eye. His head recoiled from the blow and he stumbled back a couple of feet.

Skarlet went for the knockout blow, aiming a left haymaker at his head. But Brett sensed this was her intent and he blocked the incoming assault and sent Skarlet tumbling head over heels with a leg trip. She landed right next to the sword she'd dropped and quickly snatched it up. Seeing what she was doing Brett located his discarded sword and dug his foot under it. With a flip of his lower leg, he kicked the weapon into the air and grabbed it as she got back to her feet.

He advanced towards her and she chopped at his leg forcing him to parry. Brett countered with a thrust followed by a high swing at her head that drove her back. In a high guard stance, Brett kept advancing as she backed up towards the fountain. With a quick motion, she sliced at his chest but his sword was there to meet it. Driving forward still, their blades twirled and rotated around one another and they ended up changing positions.

Now with his back to the fountain, Brett blocked a high swing from her and forced the smaller sword down to the left. As he did so it forced the two of them closer together until they were touching side to side and her blade was trapped by his against the fountain wall. As soon as they touched, they each felt a jolt of electricity fire through them.

 _Why does this madness continue?_ Brett asked himself as he gazed upon her face.

 _Why couldn't you and I have been on the same side?_ Skarlet wondered as she stared into his eyes.

"Your move," Brett told her.

Skarlet obliged by turning fast and slamming her elbow into the back of his head. As he toppled forward into the fountain, he grabbed her by her skimpy outfit. They both hit the water with a splash.

She recovered first, rising up and readying her weapon. He was just starting to surface. This was the opportunity she had been waiting for. With all of her speed and strength, she went for the death strike. Victory was hers. Tonight she would sleep peacefully. Her demons would be vanquished.

And yet as she started to swing her sword, her mind was suddenly consumed by yet another dream. No, not a dream. More of a vision really. The world as she knew it suddenly disappeared and the only thing she saw was her leaning her head against someone else. She couldn't see who, but the expression she saw on her own face suggested she was very happy to be with whoever the unknown person was.

The scene shifted quickly and she saw herself lying in a bed having intimate relations with the same person and it rapidly changed again to reveal an exquisite diamond ring being presented to her. Looking down at it, she was startled to see herself dressed all in white, wearing the most beautiful, if slightly risqué, wedding dress she'd ever seen and several children playing around her and laughing. Looking at it all, it filled Skarlet with a sense of happiness and joy she'd never felt before.

Her vision continued and she looked straight ahead. The unknown man from her dreams walked towards her again, only this time she could clearly see him. It was Brett Hudson and it confirmed what she'd suspected from the instant she'd laid eyes on him. The metal behemoth from her earlier dreams was behind him only this time it wasn't moving and it didn't seem quite so scary.

As she stepped forward and reached out to touch him, the scene shifted one more time to something utterly horrifying. Her, chained up in that damn cell Shao Kahn ordered her to be kept in. Only something wasn't right about the way she looked. She looked… dead. Terrible wounds covered her face and body and her eyes had a glassed over look. As the view pulled back, Skarlet was terrified to see that her legs were missing and appeared to have been chewed off by some grotesque looking creature.

As the view pulled back some more she saw that she was no longer in her cell but shackled to a small island of rock surrounded by intense fire and a pool of burning lava. Flares of flame and searing heat erupted all around, burning her flesh. She saw the creature, a Netherrealm demon, bite into one of her arms and tear it off. Sitting on a nearby rock, Skarlet watched in horrified revulsion as it began to feast on her limb.

Looking up again she saw her body, now hanging only by one chain dangling uselessly at her wrist. And then she saw the most horrifying thing of all… the mangled body of Brett Hudson, minus its head, lying dead beneath her.

Skarlet did the only thing she could… she screamed in gut-wrenching agony. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

She suddenly realized she was actually screaming that word in the very real present, her mind having suddenly snapped out of the vision. She was still continuing her death swing. There was no way Brett could block it in time. And as the blade continued on towards destiny, Skarlet suddenly realized what the entire vision meant, why she was screaming and what would eventually happen to her if she completed the swing.

Still screaming, "NOOOOOOOOO," she finally checked her swing, stopping it less than half foot from completion. And with that, Skarlet's entire life destiny changed drastically.

With thoughts of the vision rifling through her mind, her entire body trembled violently and she looked at Brett with wide, terrified eyes. _Oh my God… by the Elder Gods,_ she thought. _Could what I just saw possibly be true?_

For an answer, Brett fully recovered from his fall into the fountain. Standing tall, he swung his sword down for the final stroke. She was completely at his mercy and she closed her eyes, expecting her life to violently end in a shower of blood and white hot pain followed shortly thereafter by eternal blackness. Even so, she welcomed it. Not that she was eager to die. But to lose to such a fine, handsome warrior… Skarlet wouldn't want her life to end any other way.

A loud clang and her sword was torn from her grasp again, splashing into the water as a result. Confused, she opened her eyes only to receive the pommel of Brett's sword right in her face. Dazed, she staggered back and Brett slammed her down against the fountain wall as he stepped out of it. Before she could react, he seized her second sword, pulled it from its scabbard and threw it away.

The fight was finally over and they were both exhausted from the ordeal. Both of them were panting hard and Brett bent forward at the waist in an effort to regain control of his breathing. Skarlet was dazed and her head hurt like mad. She was draped over the fountain wall while her legs and hips remained submerged in the water.

She couldn't believe it. She was alive. Brett Hudson had spared her. "You… you should've killed me Brett Hudson," she said. "I am humiliated by my defeat."

"You are humiliated only if you allow yourself to believe that," he told her. "On the other hand, you can take defeat as an opportunity to learn. It's your choice." He knelt down in front of her and she struggled to look into his eyes, those beautiful blue eyes that she could stare into for hours if he'd let her. "I'm also not stupid Skarlet. I know you had the drop on me in that fountain. And yet something stopped you. I don't know what, but for whatever reason you could not allow yourself to complete that final swing. The swing that would've killed me. So consider this a return of the favor. And even if you hadn't gotten the drop on me, I'd sooner cut my own throat that kill someone as lovely as you are."

Skarlet managed a weak half-smile, wanting to say something but not sure exactly of what to say.

"I would encourage you to take heed of what I told you earlier though," he said. "That you can be so much more than a mindless servant of a madman. Because if we're forced to meet like this again, I cannot guarantee that I will spare you a second time." He heard the sounds of the main battle raging in the streets along with more gunfire. "You fought well Skarlet. But if you'll excuse me, I have other business to attend to."

He was gone then, heading back through the inn and leaving Skarlet alone in the courtyard.

Masamune gasped in shock as a flood of fiery hot agony washed over him. His eyes went wide in disbelief and his arms grew heavy. With trembling fingers, he dropped his sword and his whole body began to stiffen. His legs suddenly became weak and he sank to his knees. With his breathing rapidly becoming shallower and shallower, he looked down at his chest.

Reiko's scythe blade had penetrated Masamune's back and tore through his body before punching a gory exit wound out his chest. His blood covered the blade and some of it dripped on the ground. He coughed once and a trickle of blood leaked out of his mouth. Strangely enough, he no longer felt the pain. Maybe that was because he was starting to feel his brain shutting down.

He could see a fait white light ahead of him and several faces appeared. The Elder Gods. They were welcoming him. _Come Masamune,_ they said in unison. _You've achieved your destiny and earned your rest. It's now time for your pupil to fulfill his destiny._

 _Okay,_ Masamune thought. His head jerked slightly to the right and beheld the last thing he would ever see as a living man… the eyes of his finest pupil. _I'm sorry Brett,_ he thought. _But I must go now. Serve Earth and Edenia well. They need you._

Laughing, Reiko yanked his weapon free and parried Jade's triblade as it approached. The action allowed Masamune's body to pitch forward and hit the ground. "Pathetic and useless," Reiko gloated. "Just like all of you who stand in defiance of Shao Kahn! What do you have to say now Earthworm?"

With his last ounce of strength, Masamune rolled onto his back and issued his final statement that was heard by the Outworld general, Brett, Jade and Kitana. "Congratulations Reiko," he coughed. "You've given the highball to your own engine of destruction."

Less than a minute after leaving Skarlet in the inn's courtyard, Brett emerged from the front entrance. The first thing he saw was Masamune sink to the ground, Reiko's scythe blade sticking out of his chest. His eyes widened in shock and disbelief. Was this really happening? No! It couldn't be! Masamune couldn't be dead! "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed.

Jade and Kitana witnessed Masamune fall as well. "MASAMUNE!" Jade yelled in denial.

From the cries and screams nearby, Liu Kang and Nightwolf guessed what had happened. "We're too late," Liu said as he choked back tears.

"I know," Nightwolf replied sadly. "Ancestors, please grant the honorable Masamune a pleasant journey to his next plane of existence."

Brett rushed at Reiko. In his rage, he didn't fully see what was happening and that he'd covered the hundred or so feet in less than a second. He shoulder rammed the Outworld general with the force of an angry bull trying to throw its rider. The sudden and powerful jar of the hit broke Reiko's scythe at the handle and he stumbled backwards.

Not giving his new opponent a second chance, Brett leaped in the air and spun around, smashing Reiko in the forehead with a kick. It sent the Outworld general flipping ass over tea kettle several times and he crashed to ground some distance away in a dazed heap.

With the assailant driven away, Brett raced back to Masamune to check on him. He didn't care that bullets were flying all around him. He just wanted to check on his teacher, his mentor, his friend. He couldn't be dead! He couldn't just leave him in this unfamiliar realm all alone like this!

Brett knelt beside his fallen master and slapped his face, hoping for a reaction but getting none. Even as his mind subconsciously told him, the wound he'd suffered was fatal Brett held his master in his arms and tried to shake him awake. "Come on Uncle Yama," he begged. "Stay with me here. It's not your time yet!"

Jade and Kitana finally managed to get away from their opponents and rushed to see if they could help in any way. But one look at the wound in his chest and they both knew it was hopeless. The women exchanged glances at one other, each of them on the brink of tears. They were too late.

Brett, still not wanting to accept that he was gone, kept trying to shake Masamune awake. "Come on Uncle Yama, come on," he yelled. He laid his master back on the ground and began doing chest compressions in a fruitless attempt to restart his heart. "COME ON!"

Kitana placed her hand on his. "Brett, it's too late," she cried.

"No," he said defiantly. "No it's not! Come on Uncle Yama!"

Kitana tightened her grip on his hand. "Brett…"

"Dammit Uncle Yama, wake up!" he yelled as he continued chest compressions. "Wake up!"

Kitana finally grabbed Brett by the shoulders and shook him violently. "Brett stop!" she sobbed. "It's too late! You can't save him! He's already gone! I'm sorry." She choked on her last words as tears started running down her cheeks. "I – I'm sorry Brett."

Brett finally stopped doing chest compressions and looked up at Kitana. Her eyes were full of tears and seeing her distraught expression finally led Brett to accept the truth. Yamato Masamune, his master and friend, was dead and no amount of trying to change that would make a difference. He looked down at Masamune's dead body and gasped in shock and anguish. "Oh-oh God," he blurted out.

He felt a hand clutching his shoulder and turned to look. It was Jade's. Her own face was a mirror image of his own, full of shock and grief. "I… I'm sorry Brett," she said sadly, thinking about how her attempt to save him with her triblade had failed. "I tried Brett," she cried. "I tried."

It finally overwhelmed him and Brett collapsed, crying against his dead mentor's chest. Jade put her arms around him as best she could and embraced him despite her own tears.

Kitana rubbed his shoulders and did her best to console him. But what good could it really do? Brett was hysterical with grief. Even so, she figured something was better than nothing. She leaned down and whispered in his ear. "He was a brave man Brett and a terrific warrior. One of the finest I've ever known."

At that moment, having been advised by the Elder Gods of what had happened, Raiden suddenly appeared and knelt down beside them. Even the normally detached storm God was choked up by the scene. He wasn't supposed to have emotions like this and yet it was impossible for him not to. You couldn't be the protector of such a large group of people and not be affected by them from time to time. He put a comforting hand on Brett's shoulder. "Earthrealm has lost a great champion. But you should be proud, for he died fighting for what he believed in."

Brett heard none of it, nor did he want to, nor did he care. He didn't care that sounds of battle still met his ears, and he didn't care that bullets were still whizzing by around him. He just wanted his friend, his mentor, his Uncle Yama back. But no matter how much he wished for it, it wasn't going to happen. He hadn't even gotten a chance to save him.

Damn it! When did it end? How much more was going to be taken from him? How much more was he going to lose before he completely broke down and went insane? First he'd lost his childhood sweetheart, then his best friend Kevin, then his career, then his wife, then his home, then his life savings and financial security, then most of his possessions, then his good name! And now… now this damned conflict over Earth and a realm that two weeks ago he didn't even know existed had taken his lifelong mentor because some damned asshole of an emperor couldn't take "no" for answer! What more was there?! What else could he lose?!

He let out a moan of despair and Jade tried to pull him closer to her. Anything to try and comfort him. But in a moment of savagery, he clenched his fists, reared his head back so that he was looking up at the sky and let out a scream of rage and grief. It was unlike any scream any of them had ever heard for it was so loud it generated a shockwave that literally knocked Jade, Kitana and Raiden backwards.

The power of the Elder Gods themselves seemed to be behind it as the ground started to shake. Jade and Kitana both covered the ears and groaned in pain. They had never heard such an intensely audible sound in all their lives. Raiden just sat where he'd been thrown and looked at Brett with compassion. _The engine starts,_ he thought to himself.

All around Bexbran and for miles beyond, Brett's feral scream of fury echoed. Animals and birds near the village fled in terror as did numerous civilians and less courageous Outworlders and Tarkatans. Near the ruined tavern, Bo-Rai Cho and Li Mei were forced to cover their ears like everyone else. "What in the world is that?" Li Mei wondered, her words drowning out in the noise

Liu Kang and Nightwolf each dropped to their knees, their hands clamped to their ears in an attempt to stifle the deafening sound. "I've never heard such an anguished cry before," Nightwolf was forced to shout. Liu only shrugged, indicating he couldn't understand what the Apache warrior had said. Nightwolf didn't bother to repeat himself. There was no point at the moment. _Ancestors,_ he prayed. _Though he and I have never met face to face, I ask you to please calm the spirit of the honorable Brett Hudson. He needs your guidance and compassion._

Some distance outside the village, Baraka had been keeping the portal back to Outworld as stable as possible when Brett's outraged yell reached his ears. As Tarkatans had more sensitive hearing than humans, he was instantly overwhelmed by it and presented with a whopping headache. "The hell is going on there?" he wondered as he staggered back towards the village to investigate.

The ground continued to shake, prompting Jade to reach out towards Brett. To try and get him to calm down. But the instant she tried, the deafening roar of his violent yell overcame her. It had yet to cease and his body was starting to rise up off the ground. Horns sounded from seemingly no place and lightning bolts from who-knew-where crashed into his body, yet he didn't feel any of it.

A ball of fire formed around Brett, obscuring him from view the heat from which was so forceful, Jade and Kitana both had to back further away from him. Both of them feared what was happening to Brett as he appeared to be trapped in the flames. Was he burning alive? Spontaneously combusting? They feared the worst but prayed for the best.

A short distance away, Reiko finally came to his senses and immediately groaned in frustration. What the hell was that earsplitting racket? Sitting up on one leg, he wondered why the ground was quaking so much. His eyes widened as he witnessed the source before him… a massive screaming ball of fire with lightning slamming into it every so often.

For a brief second, raw fear bolted through Reiko like a greased pig. What was this? Was this what Masamune had warned him about in his final seconds? The engine of his own destruction? Not quite sure of how to deal with this situation, Reiko made the sensible move, one that Mileena had failed to make earlier. "All forces retreat," he yelled as loud as he could. "Back to Outworld! Now!"

Most of the remaining Outworlders failed to hear Reiko's order. But as the general got to his feet and started moving, he gestured for others to follow him. The troops that still remained quickly got the message and began heading for the portal. _Damn that Mileena,_ Reiko thought, refusing to accept his own responsibility for what was happening. _Damn her for not following the Emperor's explicit instructions! What has she done now?!_

Brett's enraged yell finally started to subside and the fireball that encased him began to descend back towards the ground. The flames that had once encircled him dissipated and the lightning bolts stopped flashing. Whatever magical energy that had suspended him above the ground disappeared and he landed on his feet.

No longer was he wearing the gray and gold tunic with matching pants he'd been given when he'd first arrived on Edenia. Instead he was now wearing a button down dark gray shirt with black stone washed jeans and black gator belly cowboy boots. Enshrouding the new ensemble was a light gray leather oilskin duster, open in the front and that extended all the way to his calves. The back was emblazoned with a full color, head-on relief of AMRoad FP7 number 4070, the very engine he was driving at the time of the accident, and the words "KOMBAT THIS ASSHOLE" underneath.

He opened his eyes.

Seconds after Brett left the courtyard, Skarlet extricated herself from the fountain and recovered both of her weapons. And as she did her mind was reeling. It was rare for her to lose a fight and until this moment she'd never lost a fight to an Edenian or an Earthrealmer. But then, racking her brain, she realized she'd never fought an Earthrealmer before.

Sheathing her swords, she sat on the fountain wall. So many thoughts and ideas were going through her mind, it was almost impossible to concentrate on any of them. He'd humiliated her and yet she wasn't at all bitter about it. She was grateful Brett had spared her and yet she was ashamed of herself. Ashamed that she hadn't been able to finish him off like Shao Kahn had created her to do.

But if the vision she'd had just seconds before she would have contained any truth whatsoever about her future, how could she? That was a question that was making Skarlet's head hurt and she massaged her temples. She was Shao Kahn's finest enforcer. How could she be having silly little fantasies like this?

Skarlet heard a loud scream from the streets and she turned in the direction Brett had departed. Instantly she knew who it was. _That was Brett,_ she thought. Before she really knew it, Skarlet found herself running from the courtyard through the inn. _What happened?_ She had no idea what the answer was or what she'd do when she learned it. For the moment, she just needed to know what had caused him to yell so loudly.

Catching herself before she ran blindly into the streets, she hid in the shadows of the inn's main entrance and quietly observed the scene. About a hundred or so feet away, she saw Brett kneeling on the ground, thumping on the chest of another man. It was clear to her the man was dead, but Brett was trying to revive him. _A losing prospect,_ she thought and yet she rather admired his tenacity in trying to attempt the impossible.

From the dead man's style of dress, Skarlet deduced it was Master Yamato Masamune. Though she had never faced him in one on one combat, she'd heard the elderly gentleman was one of the finest martial arts masters helping Kitana and the Edenians. She wondered who'd gotten to the elderly master first.

Jade and Kitana were kneeling next to Masamune too, trying to tell Brett that his efforts were wasted, but he didn't appear to be listening to either of them. It was almost as if he was believing that one more push, one more blow to the chest would somehow magically revive him. And for a few short seconds, Skarlet suddenly found herself hoping against hope that Brett would somehow succeed.

She sensed the curious aura that surrounded him before was still there and yet she had no idea what it meant. What was even more interesting now was that she sensed a similar aura radiating from Jade and Kitana. It wasn't quite as strong as the one she felt coming from Brett, but it was undeniably present. So what did it mean?

He finally stopped trying to revive Masamune and he mumbled something Skarlet didn't understand. His face was a mask of pure heartache and sorrow as he buried his face against Masamune's chest. Even as far away as she was, Skarlet could hear him crying and could see the shaking of his body as grief overtook him. And as she watched the scene unfold in front of her, Skarlet felt a twinge of something inside herself. It was painful and it was something she had never felt before.

Her own feelings of grief and sorrow.

She felt a lump in her throat and though she couldn't actually see it, a sad frown appeared on her face and she had an extremely distressed look in her eyes. This was something totally new for her and she wasn't really prepared for it. Damn it, she was Shao Kahn's finest enforcer and assassin. She couldn't be having feelings and reactions like this.

 _You were also created from the blood of thousands of dead warriors,_ she reminded herself. _You think they didn't have feelings? That they didn't know what it was like to feel pain and anguish? Of course they did so why the hell shouldn't you?_

She felt a sudden urge to run over to him but she resisted it. Why the urge to do such a thing even became an issue was something she didn't know or understand because Skarlet certainly didn't feel like continuing their earlier battle. And with Jade and Kitana around him, if she suddenly came running, they might think she was attacking. After all, Skarlet wasn't on the friendliest terms with Jade or Kitana at the moment.

With that, Skarlet felt something else for the first time in her life. The feeling of utter helplessness. The feeling of desperately wanting to change a given situation and having no possible way to do it. And she felt a single tear run down her cheek.

Skarlet let out a gasp of shock and reached up to touch her face. She dipped her fingers in it and looked at the clear fluid that now coated the tips. _Am I… crying?_ She thought. _I've never done this before._ Her gaze returned to the still sobbing Brett. How was it that this man who she'd only met not fifteen minutes earlier, in the heat of battle no less, was having such a bizarre effect on her? How was he making her feel and do things she never had before?

She shook her head in an attempt to bring her mind back to what she considered normal. _Snap out of it Skarlet,_ she told herself. _You're Shao Kahn's finest assassin. This isn't like you._ But the more she looked and listened to Brett, the worse she felt in return. And she wondered if Brett was right in his earlier claim to her. That she could be much more than what she already was.

Then came the scream. That thunderous, pained, enraged scream Brett let out that caused the ground to shake and terrified everything around him. Skarlet covered her ears and looked on in awe as she witnessed his body leave the ground and become encircled by the flames and lightning. The spectacle of what she was witnessing forced Skarlet to her knees.

Wide eyed with amazement, Skarlet watched as the flaming ball encasing him disappeared and he landed on his feet. With his new style of dress, Skarlet could only wonder what was going to happen next.

Brett reached down and picked up both his sword and Masamune's. By now most of the Outworld and Tarkatan troops that had been assaulting the village were pulling back, but there were still plenty of targets left. Such as the three high on adrenaline Black Dragon junkies that approached with their weapons pointed at him.

The leader of the group started to demand something, a demand that fell on completely deaf ears. Utilizing his newly discovered abilities, Brett went into a forward spinning motion faster than any he had ever made previously. Pulling the first blade horizontally, he slashed a deep cut in the stomach of the first Black Dragon goon. He barely got time to gasp in horror as Brett continued his spin and slashed with his second sword, severing the guy's head.

With Brett's back to the second Black Dragon assailant, he tried to raise his rifle and fire. Brett knew he was there and thrust the swords backwards, running them through his chest. Quickly he pulled them out and turned, swing one of them and decapitating him at eye level before he ever got the safety off.

The third Black Dragon chump managed to get off one shot from his Berretta 92 but it was so poorly aimed, Brett didn't even have to try to dodge it. Instead he stepped to his left and hacked downward, chopping off the idiot's weapon arm at the elbow. He shrieked in terror and agony as blood jetted from the stump.

His suffering was made brief by Brett smashing him in the face with the butt of one sword and he fell to the ground. An instant later, the former railroader drove both weapons through his chest and heart. In the span of just a few second, he'd killed three and others were taking notice.

As the dying Dragon member breathed his last huffs of air, Brett recovered his Berretta and dropped into a kneeling stance. A few of the more courageous, but foolish Outworld assailants had decided they could charge in and overwhelm Brett by strength of numbers. The strategy lasted as long as it took for Brett to ensure the safety was off and place a shot right in the forehead of a charging Tarkatan. The forced of the shot pushed his head backwards and his legs flew forwards, pitching the Tarkatan up into the air and he crashed dead to the ground.

Brett didn't know how many bullets were left in the weapon's clip but he fired again. A gaping hole appeared in the chest of an Outworld trooper who collapsed in wide eyed shock as his life abruptly ended. A third shot took out a second Tarkatan and those who had been rushing him were starting to rethink their idea.

The fourth shot was the last one and it took out a Black Dragon member. While all this had been going on, Kitana and Jade had been watching with mesmerized expressions on their faces. And as his pistol ran dry, Kitana finally snapped out of it. Hopping to her feet and unfolding one of her fans, she shouted, "Now's our chance! Send them back where they came from!" She hurled the fan at the closest target, a Black Dragon member and smiled in grim satisfaction as it sliced open his chest.

Jade's triblade reappeared in her hand and she threw it at the next target while Liu Kang launched a fireball at another. Nightwolf fired his mystical Spirit Arrow and even Raiden got into the act, throwing a lightning bolt at a Tarkatan.

The Outworld assault party was in full retreat, heading for the portal in the nearby woods as Brett recovered the AR-15 assault rifle from the corpse of the second Black Dragon goon he'd killed. Dropping into the prone position, he rested the barrel of the rifle on the body of the third Dragon fool he'd dropped and took a deep breath, remembering what his instructor had told him in sniper school years ago… giving in to emotions such as fear, anger and rage are lethal for a sniper.

Blinding himself to all emotion, Brett peered down the sights and began scanning for targets. There was no scope on the rifle, just the standard iron sights. Oh well, it was better than firing blind. As his finger found the all-too familiar depression, he began tactical breathing and lowered his heart rate. Slowly, gently, he selected a target and pressed the trigger.

The rifle barked as the bullet was discharged and an instant later, slammed into the head of a fleeing Outworld trooper. His head disappeared in a pink mist and Brett shifted his aim at another target. At this range, allowing for wind and distance almost wasn't a concern. He fired again as the Outworld invaders began disappearing into the trees.

The second shot found its mark too, embedding itself in the back of a running Tarkatan and blasting a fist sized hole out of his chest. Suddenly robbed of life, the Tarkatan's stumbled wildly forward and slammed head first into a tree. With half his chest missing and a caved in skull, the Tarkatan sank to the ground in a hurry.

Kitana's fan and Jade's triblade returned as Brett fired a third shot, taking out another Outworlder with a bullet to the head. As he methodically continued to drop targets, Liu Kang looked over at him in disgust. _Snipers,_ Liu thought. _So dishonorable and uncivilized._

Reiko hurried between buildings in his bid to escape. He'd seen the three Black Dragon enforcers fall and when the return gunfire had started, made the decision to not stay out in the open. _A wise decision,_ he thought to himself. But now he was getting so turned around in between the village buildings, he wasn't entirely sure if was heading towards the portal back to Outworld or not.

His frustration was growing. Just before he'd been knocked to the ground he'd gotten a glimpse of the man who'd slammed into him. It was the same man Mileena had described as "fresh meat" just before the battle had erupted. Who the hell was that newcomer anyway? Where had he come from?

Reiko didn't know but he was determined to get answers… eventually. Shao Kahn's spy inside Queen Sindel's ranks was bound to know something useful about the fool. He could then hopefully devise a strategy to use against him. Right now though, he was more concerned about his own survival than anything. He just had to get back to Outworld.

Rounding a corner between two buildings, Reiko nearly ran squarely into Mileena. Having finally regained her senses to the point where she could move again, she'd managed to find another way out of the inn and was trying to find her way back to anywhere that looked familiar. But still being as woozy as she was, it seemed to her that she was going in circles. "Reiko," she said upon seeing the Outworld general. "What's happening?"

"We're leaving, that's what's happening," Reiko replied.

"But…" Mileena began to protest.

"No buts this time Mileena!" Reiko shouted. "We've already stuck around here longer than we should have and we've lost more than half our team." He shoved Mileena in an arbitrary direction, not really knowing whether they would be getting anywhere closer to the portal. "We must leave now or risk annihilation!"

"What's happened to our assault team?" Mileena asked.

"Exactly what your father said would happen if we stayed too long," Reiko informed her. "The Edenians have organized their defense and are wiping them out."

Mileena was furious and her head was throbbing. Oooooh, never mind her sister Kitana. She was looking forward to facing that fresh meat guy again. Preferably when didn't have a horse handy to bash her skull in. "I swear," she muttered. "When I meet that guy again, I'll eat his face."

By a sheer stroke of luck the way they were going led them straight into the woods. Not far away, they could see Baraka ushering as many of their troops that remained through the portal back to Outworld. A bullet whizzed by him, taking out the Outworlder just ahead of him. One of the Black Dragon members turned and fired his rifle without aiming at anything. In return, Jade's triblade found its mark, severing the chump's head before looping back to its owner.

"Keep moving," Reiko shouted. "Keep moving!" As MIleena stepped through the portal and made her escape, Reiko spoke to Baraka. "How many left back there?"

"Don't know," Baraka replied. "Half a dozen maybe."

Another bullet whizzed by, this one tearing into Reiko's shoulder and digging a shallow gouge a few inches in length. He felt a burning sensation followed by a wetness and the stench of charred flesh. Hissing through clenched teeth, he instinctively clutched at the wound, blood seeping through his fingers. _Maybe I'd better take my own advice,_ he thought.

"Shall we wait for them," Baraka asked.

"No," Reiko said. "Whoever is left will have to fend for themselves. We must leave now." With that he and Baraka stepped through the portal, sealing it behind them even as one final bullet tried to catch them.

 _Shao Kahn is going to come unglued over this failure,_ Reiko thought. _If Mileena's lucky he'll just execute her._

Brett triggered the AR-15 again and another Tarkatan went down. He had no idea how many he'd dropped and he wasn't even sure if he was still hitting targets. He also didn't care. He was content to continue firing until the rifle ran dry. Up ahead, he could barely make out the whitish glow of the portal those Outworld bastards were escaping through. And every now and then he could see a shadow pass in front of it.

Nearby, Jade and Kitana each saw the whitish glow disappear and from countless years of experience knew the portal had closed. They were victorious. The Outworld assault team had been driven away. But Brett continued firing anyway. He wasn't satisfied. As long as there was possibility any of those Outworld vermin were still out there he was going to hold the line. Just like he had at the Battle of Kamdesh and the Battle of Wanat a year and a half before that. He'd never forget those days and nights.

He fired again but by now the Outworld forces had long retreated and he could no longer make anything out in the dense forest at the edge of the village. It didn't stop him. He fired again. Kitana knelt down next to him and placed her hand on his back in a comforting reassuring gesture. "Stop Brett," she said. "Stop."

He fired again anyway.

"Brett stop," Kitana urged him. "They're gone. There's nothing there anymore."

Brett didn't hear her. He pressed the rifle's trigger again, only this time he got a click instead of a boom. The rifle was empty. Thinking it must've jammed, Brett took a few seconds to clear and recharge the weapon before pressing the trigger again. All he got for his efforts was another click.

Now Kitana started gently massaging his shoulders. It was the only thing she could think to do to help bring Brett out of whatever trance he seemed to be in. "Brett listen to me. There's no one out there anymore. They've retreated."

He cleared the weapon again and pressed the trigger one more time. Just a click.

Finally Kitana shook him. "Brett, snap out of it!" she shouted. "They're gone! Gone back to Outworld! It's over. For now anyway."

He finally heard her and stopped pulling the trigger. With the rifle empty anyway, what good was it going to do? Slowly he got to his feet, his deadpan stare never leaving the area where he'd last seen the mysterious whitish glow. And with a final grunt of frustration, he launched the rifle through the air, clenching his teeth in rage as it clattered to the ground some distance away.

With the darkened expression never leaving his face, Brett returned to the Black Dragon corpse that still had the swords sticking out of the chest. He reclaimed both of them, now officially taking Masamune's sword as his own. Brett then walked back over to where his master's body lie and stood over it. He wanted to cry some more. He wanted to scream in rage some more. He wanted to do something, anything that would magically wake him up. But no amount of wanting would make it happen.

Raiden placed a friendly hand on Brett's shoulder. "I'm sorry Brett," he said. "He was a good man."

Brett nodded slowly in agreement. "Yes he was. A hundred times the man I am or ever will be."

"You don't know that," Raiden protested.

 _No I don't know that for sure,_ Brett thought. _I also don't give a damn._ He turned back towards Kitana, who was walking towards him along with Jade. "Nothing is over Kitana," he said evenly. "Not a stinking, damn thing." He looked down at Masamune's body again. "You said Shao Kahn fears nothing? He's going to fear me. Mark my words. He will fear me."

From her hiding place, Skarlet watched the conclusion of the battle starting with Brett's ruthlessly efficient way of dispatching of the three Black Dragon thugs. When it was over, she heard his vow to make Shao Kahn fear him. The Emperor? Afraid of him? If Skarlet hadn't been bested by him in battle already, she would've thought his vow was ludicrous and laughable.

And yet she had lost to him and it was only through his good graces that she was still walking and breathing. She was thankful that he had spared her and yet, she was still ashamed of her defeat. But witnessing Brett in action now, she wondered how she ever thought she actually stood a chance against him.

He seemed darker now, more focused and more driven than the man she'd fought against just a few minutes earlier. And the sadness she beheld in his eyes… those beautiful blue eyes. Skarlet couldn't remember ever seeing a person in more obvious distress than he seemed at that moment. And she didn't like it because it made her feel incredibly sad as well.

A few more tears ran down her cheeks as she looked once more at Masamune's dead body. Skarlet didn't completely understand why this was happening to her. She'd killed others before, seen other dead bodies before and never shed a single tear for any of them. Why now? Why was the death of Masamune and Brett Hudson's grief affecting her so much? She was an assassin! Shao Kahn's finest!

Skarlet snorted. _Some assassin I turned out to be,_ she thought.

For the next several minutes she watched quietly as Brett, Kitana, Raiden and the others wrapped Masamune's body as best they could with whatever they could gather and prepare it for transport. Kitana even had a short meeting with the one known as Bo-Rai Cho. From what Skarlet could hear, he, Nightwolf and Li Mei were to stay behind, help out with the cleanup and then begin the task of rebuilding what had been damaged or destroyed. The rest of them however, were going to return to the palace and prepare for the funeral.

Kitana opened a travel portal and those who were departing began to step through it. Brett hefted Masamune's body off the ground and began to follow them as he carried it with him. Skarlet nearly called out to him just as he was about to step through the portal, but she held her tongue. What could she say? What could she do?

After the portal had disappeared, Skarlet pondered her next move. She was the only member of the Outworld assault force still here and no one other than Shao Kahn and perhaps Reiko knew she'd ever been here. Skarlet didn't know how to open travel portals, so getting back to Outworld was out of the question and she really didn't feel like going back there anyway.

And even if she did return to Outworld, what was she going to do? Go back to Shao Kahn and explain her failure? Yeah, right. Shao Kahn had never been a forgiving man and Skarlet had zero reason to believe he would be now. In short, if he learned she'd failed, she'd consider herself lucky if he executed her on the spot.

She could stay here and gather intelligence for Emperor Kahn, but who would she give it to? How would she get it back to agents of Outworld? And what we she tell Shao Kahn if he suddenly questioned why she'd elected to remain on Edenia of her own volition? Even if she did give him a plausible excuse, there was still that faint little feeling within her. The feeling of it just didn't feel right. So she dismissed that idea as well.

Skarlet heard voices approaching from one direction and footsteps from another. The voice she recognized as belonging to Bo-Rai Cho, but she no idea whose footsteps were approaching. Deciding she'd hung around in Bexbran long enough, Skarlet made use of an ability she used only when absolutely necessary. With great concentration, her entire body melted into a pool of red liquid and she skulked away into the shadows.

When she'd gotten a safe distance outside the town and into a wooded area where no one could see her, Skarlet reformed and considered her remaining options. Not like she had many. And no matter what she thought of or considered, her thoughts always invariably returned to one thing.

Brett Hudson.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about him and those blue eyes of his that nearly made her heart stop. He left so abruptly and Skarlet found herself longing to see him again. _So why don't you follow him then?_

She asked herself the obvious question and immediately came up with an obvious answer. _He's going to be at the Edenian Royal Palace. Challenging him to a rematch there would not be the best idea for your long-term survival prospects._

The instant she thought it, she closed her eyes and sighed deeply. _And you know damn well a rematch is not the reason why you want to follow him._ It was then that the memories of her vision flooded her mind. The vision that she'd had a few seconds before checking her death blow against him. And it made her smile wider than she ever had in her life.

This was crazy. Here she was, Shao Kahn's finest assassin, reduced to a confused mess. Or was it really that confusing? Yes, she was created by Shao Kahn solely for the purpose of killing and serving him. But every fiber of her being told her she could be more than just an assassin. Brett had said it too, told her she could be so much more. Did she dare to believe it? She wasn't sure if she could but regardless, the feeling deep within her being demanded she follow him.

Only one problem with that… Skarlet had no idea how to open travel portals. If she did, she could be in the vicinity of the Edenian Royal palace in seconds. As it was though, she had a long walk ahead of her. Several days at least, perhaps even a week or so. _Well,_ she thought. _I'm not going to get closer to the Royal Palace by sitting here and griping at the length of the walk._

And she started on her way, confident that if the Elder Gods saw fit to bring them together once, they would do so again. _I owe Brett Hudson my life,_ she thought. _I must know more about him._ She breathed deeply as she considered her next thought. _And I must know if what I believe to be true really can be true._


	6. One or a Thousand: Chapter 6

**One or a Thousand, Chapter 6**

 _Realm of Outworld, Shao Kahn's Palace_

 _Shao Kahn's Throne Room_

To say that Shao Kahn was a little upset at how the raid on Bexbran had gone was beyond a bit of an understatement. Apoplectic would've been a better term used to describe the pitch of his anger. And it was something that Mileena was in the very painful process of learning first hand. With a feral scream of rage, Shao Kahn threw Mileena all the way across his throne room, her body impacting the wall with a loud crack.

The unconscious form of Baraka lay sprawled on the floor a short distance away and the dazed Mileena glanced at him, noting that several of his teeth were now missing. Near the door to the antechamber, Reiko stood stoically watching events unfold. Thus far only he'd been spared the Emperor's fury but it wouldn't much to change the focus of Shao Kahn's fury. That was something Reiko was determined not to do.

Marching straight up to his daughter, Shao Kahn let out another yell. "RRRRRRRAAAAAAUGH!" it echoed as he backhanded Mileena as hard as he could and it sent her tumbling across the floor. As she struggled to get up, Shao Kahn approached again. "YAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" he screamed an instant before kicking her in the chest. The force of the blow lifted Mileena into the air and she flew several feet away, landing in a heap.

"You stupid, idiotic, miserable excuse for a daughter!" Kahn raged as he approached her again. He punched her in the face, bruising her cheek. "Did I or did I not order you to pull back the minute the Edenians began to organize their defenses?!"

"Yes daddy," Mileena said weakly. "You did, but…"

Shao Kahn was in no mood to listen to excuses. "Then why did you fail to do so?!"

"Daddy, I thought that…"

"That was your failure right there!" Kahn screamed in her face. "YOU STARTED THINKING!" With blinding speed, he shoulder rammed her and followed up with a hard uppercut to her jaw, sending her up into the air. As her body fell back to the floor, Shao Kahn spun around and kicked it back across the throne room. "YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO THINK! YOU ARE ONLY SUPPOSED TO SERVE ME!"

Reiko continued to remain silent, content to wait until Kahn's anger had burnt itself out. His face was so red with fury, Reiko briefly wondered if the Emperor's head might involuntarily explode from the sheer stress. He was about to say something to Kahn, but immediately clamped down. _No, bad idea Reiko,_ he said to himself. _Open your mouth and you'll become the next object and target of the Emperor's anger._ Still if he didn't knock it off and calm down soon, he was liable to self-destruct under the stress of his own rage.

Kahn grabbed Mileena by the throat and lifted her up off her feet. Her eyes bulged from her head as he started to throttle her. Feebly she fought back, clawing at his face, but it was no use. In her weakened state, she started to lose consciousness quickly. "I should kill you now for your gross ineptitude and miserable failure!"

Mileena wanted to plead to her father for mercy but all she could utter was a rough choking sound. She became light headed and her vision began to get blurry. Another few seconds and Shao Kahn would crush her throat for sure and that would be the end.

Whoa, this was going too far. Kahn was now jeopardizing his own plans more than Mileena had. Reiko had to intervene. Forgetting about his own safety for the moment, he rushed in and started to pull Kahn's arms away from Mileena's throat. "Emperor, no!" he warned. "Punish Mileena for her failure if you must, but you cannot kill her! Without her, you have no way to replace Kitana on Edenia's throne!" He struggled against Kahn's powerful grasp. "Please listen to me Emperor!"

Fortunately for Mileena, Shao Kahn did listen to Reiko and he eased up his grip just as she started to go unconscious. With a final yell of ferocity, he flipped Mileena over his head and body slammed her on the floor. A soft whimper of submission and she blacked out. "Be thankful that Reiko speaks the truth for it is that reason alone which makes feel exceedingly generous today. As such, I shall spare your worthless life… this time."

Reiko swallowed hard. There was another reason why Mileena's life needed to be spared for the moment. As of now Shao Kahn was unaware of that reason and Reiko wondered whether or not he should say anything about it. Perhaps it was best to just let it be? But then, if Shao Kahn found out on his own he might wonder why Reiko hadn't said anything. _Lesser of two evils,_ he thought. _Which to choose?_ He breathed deeply. "My Emperor, I asked you to spare Mileena not entirely for the reasons I mentioned. There may yet be another reason why it is prudent to spare her for now."

Something in Reiko's voice alerted Shao Kahn and he faced his general with a menacing stare. "I'm not going to like what you're about to tell me am I?"

"Perhaps not," Reiko admitted. "Skarlet is missing."

Shao Kahn's eyes flared widely, his almost burnt out fury resurfacing in an instant. "How did you know she was there?" he demanded.

"My Emperor, be reasonable," Reiko implored him. "I'm the one who you ordered to unchain her and bring her to you. Then a short time later, we conducted this probing operation against Edenia. An idiot could figure what your intent was."

 _Mm, yes I suppose that's true,_ Kahn thought. "Very well then but get to the point general," Shao Kahn rumbled.

"Well I don't know this to be absolutely true because I never actually saw Skarlet there," Reiko said. "But she's not in her cell at the moment and no one has seen her around in several hours. I can only assume therefore, that she was there with our assault team. If that's true, then as she has failed to return, I again can only assume she's been captured or killed. Bottom line, she's missing and I would presume her dead."

This news sent Shao Kahn's anger over the boiling point and he took it out on the only thing he could… the general who had just given him the message. Before Reiko knew what was happening, Shao Kahn had slammed his foot right in between his legs. Doubling over, Reiko wheezed in agony. His suffering was brief however as the furious Emperor landed a solid punch to the back of his head and knocking him senseless.

Shao Kahn looked around for his next target only to find he was the only one still conscious in his throne room. His anger still hadn't quite burnt itself out though and he smashed a fist into the wall, digging a deep gouge into the masonry. Damn it all to hell! If Reiko's argument for sparing Mileena hadn't made sense, he'd kill her anyway!

Losing more than half the assault team had been bad enough, but Skarlet was worth more than the entire assault team combined. Hell, she was worth ten or twelve assault teams. If she was missing or dead, then his plans for the invasion of Edenia had just been thrown into an extreme state of chaos.

Walking back across the room, he threw himself heavily onto his throne and considered his options. Reiko assumed Skarlet was dead, but even he admitted he hadn't seen Skarlet during the raid. So there was at least a chance Skarlet was still alive and had just been cut off from the rest of the group. And if that was true she was wandering Edenia somewhere.

Shao Kahn had to partly blame himself for the situation. He'd sent Skarlet into the field without a clear method of how to get back. Now who knew where she was and if she was still in one piece? He should've shown her how to create travel portals some time ago. Damn it.

Of course there was no way he was going to admit his mistake out loud. Not when there were others that could be blamed for the fiasco like Mileena and Baraka. Even so, it was a situation he couldn't just let go by the wayside. He had to either confirm Skarlet's death or locate her and bring her back into the fold.

But who did he send to look for her? He thought about Sheeva, Goro or Kintaro, but if he sent Shokan they would attract too much attention. He couldn't send a Centaurian for the same reason, even though they were expert trackers. And the Black Dragons had made enough of a mess with this little escapade. He was going to have to have a little "chat" with Kano about that the next time he saw the Black Dragon leader.

Shao Kahn smiled and called for a slave. A moment later, an Outworlder who might've once looked human but was now horrendously malnourished, entered. "Y-yes Emperor?" the older man spoke weakly.

"Summon Reptile to the throne room immediately," Shao Kahn demanded. He gestured with his hands at the three unconscious forms on the floor. "Then clean up this mess!"

"Yes Emperor," the slave replied. "Of course. Right away."

As the slave beat a hasty retreat to fulfill his master's orders, Shao Kahn turned and stared out the window. _What is this setback going to cost me_ , he wondered.

 _Realm of Outworld, Quan Chi's Fortress_

 _The Inner Sanctum_

Shao Kahn wasn't the only one who was upset over the results of the Outworld raid on the Edenian village. On an island in the middle of the ocean thousands of miles away was a hidden citadel that served as a base of operations for the sorcerer, Quan Chi. Constructed by twisted sorcery warping the natural rock that made up the island, the eerie structure with its spiraling stone formations surrounding it stood many stories in height.

A perimeter walkway made of stone rose from the ocean and looped around the fortress, acting as a natural barrier to potential ocean-borne threats. Three interconnecting branches all stretched inward from the perimeter walkway. Two led to travel portals, one of which led directly to Shao Kahn's Palace. The other was semi-random and could be tuned to transport anyone using it to any other location on Outworld.

Curiously, the structure was missing a room and the top floor was completely exposed from above. It featured a giant oddly shaped platform seemingly suspended in mid-air dozens of feet above the nearest floor. A second circular platform was next to it and connected to the first via a short walkway. A travel portal was located on this circular platform and a flight of stairs descending to who-knew-where was at one end of the larger platform.

At the opposite of the large platform was Quan Chi's throne. Ghastly in nature with two human skulls for hand rests, a headrest shaped like the elongated head of a screaming ghoul and a backrest made from dozens upon dozens of ribs, the chair stood nearly eight feet in height. Truly it was a chair only the wicked could appreciate.

Behind it was a large glowing egg-like structure which was the inner sanctum. Protected by thirteen magical rune stones that surrounded it, the inner sanctum was Quan Chi's private sanctuary. It was a place he could retreat to and recharge his power when necessary without fear of surprise attack. The inner sanctum was also a place Quan Chi could retreat to when he needed to keep his temper in check.

Like now for instance.

Even Quan Chi had to admit his initial plan to preserve Skarlet's life had been a little brash and perhaps not entirely thought out. After all, did he really think Skarlet would not have any questions if he'd suddenly appeared in front of her cell and said he was taking her to his fortress? And yet, doing exactly that was what Quan Chi's first instinct had been. Seemed ludicrous now.

And as it turned out, his plan was all for naught because despite his hasty return to his palace to set the plan in motion, nothing had worked out to his satisfaction. For starters, Skarlet had not been in her cell by the time he'd arrived in front of it. That meant he'd been too late and she was already on Edenia by that moment.

The reason for Quan Chi's tardiness irritated him further. Upon arrival back at his palace, he'd quickly scrawled out a message to Shao Kahn's spy on Edenia. The instructions had been simple… watch for Skarlet and keep an eye on her if she was discovered. But as that individual had thus far not responded, Quan Chi had to assume that the message had not yet been received.

It was that whole reason why Quan Chi had elected to spend some time in his inner sanctum. He needed to think and decide on his next move. At the moment though, he had no idea what that was going to be. One thing was certain though, before he did anything, he had to verify Skarlet's safe return to Shao Kahn's palace.

At that moment, he sensed a presence approaching and he extricated himself from his inner sanctum. A woman with pasty white skin, long black hair, a black leather bustier and matching pants was coming towards him. Though it took his eyes a second to adjust to normal conditions as opposed to the brightness of his inner sanctum, Quan Chi quickly recognized Kia, a high ranking member of his Brotherhood of Shadows and a fine assassin.

He'd sent her on an intelligence mission shortly after arriving back from Shao Kahn's palace. He hoped it would be more productive that what he'd accomplished thus far. "Your report Kia?"

It was far from what he'd hoped for. Kia knelt before her master and said, "Quan Chi. I have carried out your instructions as you wished. Unfortunately, the one known as Skarlet has not yet returned to Shao Kahn's care. She is missing."

Quan Chi's eyes widened in disbelief. "Missing?!" he yelled. "How is that possible?!"

Kia shook her head. "I do not know my lord," she confessed. "All I do know is that she has failed to return from Edenia. Shao Kahn knows of this as well. He was… most upset when he learned this."

Given how upset he was at the precise moment too, Quan Chi wasn't surprised. "I bet he was," the sorcerer groused. "Do they have any idea where she is?"

"None," Kia replied, shaking her head. "They think she may be dead."

Quan Chi rubbed his forehead. Missing? How the hell could Shao Kahn's finest enforcer be missing?! Some enforcer she'd turned out to be. He thought fast. If she was missing on Edenia, that meant Shao Kahn could not send a full search party… if he decided to look for her. Quan Chi snorted. Of course Shao Kahn would search for her. No way would he let his finest enforcer slip through his fingers that easy.

At best he might send one or two individuals. Any more than that would more than likely alert the Edenians to their presence. Quan Chi smiled. This could perhaps be the opportunity he was waiting for. If he found Skarlet first, he could claim that Shao Kahn gave her up for dead. He could then bring her into his fold without arousing too many of her suspicions. Skarlet would be an invaluable asset to the assassin team of Kia and Jataaka, especially since the defections of Sareena and Ashrah to the Forces of Light.

He motioned for Kia to stand. "Go to Edenia immediately," he ordered Kia. "Take Jataaka with you. Find Skarlet and bring her here when you do."

"What if she resists?" Kia asked.

He hoped that wouldn't happen but it was a risk he was willing to take if he could bring Skarlet into his circle. "Then deal with it, but do not harm her," Quan Chi replied. "There will be two of you. Surely you both can subdue her effectively?"

"Of course my lord," Kia boasted.

Quan Chi wasn't so sure that Kia would be able to back up that boasting if push came to shove, even if she had Jataaka with her. Although they were both fine warriors and assassins in their own right, Skarlet outclassed them in both respects by a long shot. If Skarlet decided to fight, the price could very well be the lives of Kia and Jataaka. A very high price indeed but the temptation of bringing Skarlet into his fold was too great to ignore. "Very well," he said. "You have your mission. Make haste and be on your way as soon as possible."

"With all due respect my lord, any idea where we should start looking?"

Ah yes, there was that tiny little detail. "Start in the village of Bexbran but stay out of sight," Quan Chi said. "They'll be on heightened alert for the foreseeable future. If you are spotted, you can bet Kitana and her cohorts will be summoned very quickly. Skarlet may still be in the area or she may have moved on. It is up to you to find out which. But either way, find her and bring her here."

"We'll leave as soon as we're ready."

"Good," Quan Chi said dismissing her.

After Kia had departed, Quan chi stood near his throne, his chin in his hand and consumed by deep thought. He would've thought Shao Kahn had taught her how to open a portal and return to Outworld. Had Shao Kahn been so careless as to fail to do that? If not, why had Skarlet remained on Edenia when the rest of the strike team had returned. "Why did you stay behind Skarlet," he wondered aloud. "Why did you stay?"

A short while later, elsewhere in Quan Chi's fortress, Kia and Jataaka prepared for their journey. Jataaka was a few inches taller than Kia and while her outfit may have been similar, she possessed ebony colored skin with white hair. She also had a much shorter temper than Kia, a fact that was seen in abundance when Kia informed her of Quan Chi's wishes and their resulting assignment.

Not knowing how long they were going to be searching for the elusive Skarlet, both demonesses loaded backpacks with various supplies necessary for wilderness survival. Even so, Jataaka stomped her foot angrily. "Here?" she complained with a heavy accent. "He wants us to bring that blood warrior here?"

It was not the first time Jataaka had voiced her displeasure with their task and Kia rolled her eyes. "Yes, he does," she said dryly. "As I've already told you the previous six times you've complained about it."

"But why?" Jataaka demanded to know. "Why does he want with that foul creature?"

"Again, I do not know," Kia responded. "Perhaps Quan Chi is unhappy with us. Understandable I suppose considering how our sisters became weak and soft," she said, referring to Sareena and Ashrah.

Jataaka stared at Kia. "Perhaps so," the demoness admitted. "But let me ask you… do you think we've done anything to earn Quan Chi's disfavor?"

"Nothing that I am aware of," Kia admitted.

"Then what are your thoughts regarding this assignment we've been given?"

Kia paused from her packing and looked straight at her comrade. It was the first sensible question she'd asked since she'd been told what their mission was and it deserved an answer. "I don't like it," she confessed. "I do not think that Shao Kahn's blood warrior belongs here with us."

"And why is that?" Jataaka asked, already suspecting what the answer would be.

"If Quan Chi is displeased with our service to him, it is entirely possible that his intention for bringing Skarlet into his fold is to test her as a possible replacement for us," Kia explained.

"You really think Quan Chi could be thinking that?"

For an answer Kia presented Jataaka with her best "you-got-to-be-kidding-me" expression.

Jataaka nodded. "Right. Stupid question. Of course that's what Quan Chi is thinking. Ever since Sareena and Ashrah defected to the Forces of Light, Quan Chi has been wondering and perhaps even expecting us to do the same. Oooooh, I can't wait to get my hands on them."

"Patience Jataaka," Kia warned. "Now is not the time for vengeance. But perhaps now is the time to demonstrate to Quan Chi that we remain loyal while our sisters did not."

The proposition intrigued Jataaka and she raised an eyebrow. "How do we do that?"

Before Kia could answer, a slave entered carrying a couple of small paper sacks. Skinny, dirty and disheveled with only a few strands of hair on top of his head and ripped, faded pants kept in place with a simple rope, he bowed as he presented the bags to the demonesses. "The provisions you ordered mistresses," he said weakly.

Jataaka marched up to the dirty old man and roughly snatch the bags out of the slave's hand. With that, she kicked him to the floor and sneered, "Thank you… worm."

"Mistress," the slave begged. "Please… have I done something wrong?"

"Not as yet infidel," Jataaka mocked. She put her foot against the slave's throat and started to push. "But if you don't stop your pathetic sniveling and groveling this instant, I may decide otherwise. Do you understand?"

The slave nodded emphatically.

Jataaka removed her foot. "Then get out of here!" She stomped off in a swirl of white hair leaving the slave to make a speedy, crawling exit. She threw one the bags of provisions to Kia and put the other in her own field pack. "So what do you think we should do about Skarlet?" she asked.

Kia pursed her lips. She knew what she wanted to do about Skarlet, but was it worth the risk. "As I said, I don't want Skarlet here with us if only because Quan Chi may be set on replacing us with her much in the same way we replaced our predecessors," she said. "And yet Quan Chi has demanded that we find her and bring her here." She looked at Jataaka. "If however, all we are able to find is Skarlet's corpse…"

Jataaka smiled. "That's precisely what I was thinking Kia," she said.

"It would be risky though," Kia said. "We could only strike when we are absolutely sure her death would be viewed as an accident. If Quan Chi were to discover our little plot to deny him what he asks for, his vengeance against us will be swift."

"Is it worth it then?" Jataaka asked. "Killing Skarlet just so we can have job security as it were?"

Kia gave Jataaka a surprised look. She'd been the one to bring up this idea in the first place.

Jataaka raised her hands. "I am merely trying to make sure you understand the full picture," she explained. "Whether our treachery is discovered now or a thousand years from now, the end result will be the same."

Kia admitted that Jataaka did have a point. Quan Chi had a long memory and if he did discover their plot, he could very well keep his discovery to himself, making them think everything was okay. Then when they least expected it, he'd spring some kind of inescapable trap guaranteed to inflict maximum punishment on them. And with that another devious little idea entered Kia's mind. "Yes, you're right Jataaka. In that case, perhaps it's time the Netherrealm and the Brotherhood of Shadow had new masters?"

Jataaka smiled. "I like the way you think Kia."

From a safe distance among the shadows, the slave that Jataaka had beaten watched as she and Kia stepped through a portal and traveled to Edenia. As soon as they were gone and satisfied that no one else was around, the slave began to undergo a strange metamorphosis. His elderly features, bald head and tattered clothes melted away and were replaced by fine robes, a young face with long black hair and a Fu Manchu mustache and beard.

Shang Tsung eyed the spot where Kia and Jataaka had departed with great curiosity. Ever since he'd escorted Quan Chi back to his fortress after their mutual meeting with Shao Kahn, he'd suspected the sorcerer had something up his sleeve. And given the gist of their conversation it didn't take a genius to figure out that Skarlet was his main focus of obsession at the moment.

 _Mindless drone, my ass,_ Shang Tsung thought. _If that's all she truly was, why in the hell would you be sending Kia and Jataaka to find her? And why would they be conspiring behind your back to destroy her? What in the hell is so special and fascinating about Shao Kahn's finest enforcer?_

It was clear that the rank and file underlings of all factions thought she was dead or were plotting to kill her if she was still alive. But the leaders weren't so sure and now it was a race against time to see who would find her first. Well, if Shao Kahn and Quan Chi were in a race to find Skarlet, then so too was he. If they had to know what happened to Skarlet, so too did Shang Tsung.

How he could use her to his advantage, he wasn't sure of at the moment. But it was something he'd have to figure out later. The others had the jump on him and if he didn't catch up soon, he might as well not bother with it. Yeah right. Like that was going to happen. Getting his hands on Skarlet might very well be his only chance at usurping Shao Kahn and taking the throne of Outworld for himself.

He thought for a moment about the actions of Quan Chi and what he considered Shao Kahn's might be. Quan Chi had sent Kia and Jataaka to look for Skarlet. Not the most subtle of agents to send into the field, but understandable. They were assassins after all. Certainly they were a better option than someone like Baraka whose penchant for wanton destruction often overcame his common sense.

Shao Kahn would've sent someone to search for her that could hide easily in the shadows. Were Skarlet not the object of the search in question, Shang Tsung would've guessed that Shao Kahn would send her to do his bidding. As she was however, Shang Tsung figured the next best option to conduct the search would be Reptile. Again, not a very subtle choice but understandable given the circumstances.

So who did Shang Tsung send to search for Skarlet? He needed someone with both stealth so that they couldn't be easily seen and muscle so they could deal with threats from either Edenians or one of the other factions if the need arose. Who did he send?

Noob Saibot? No, bad idea. While he definitely had stealth and strength, he was also the most mentally unbalanced. He was more likely to kill Skarlet just for the hell of it than anyone else. But the idea of sending Noob Saibot brought a more plausible idea to Shang Tsung's mind.

Scorpion.

That hell spawned specter that forever sought vengeance was the perfect choice. He'd been a ninja of the Shirai Ryu clan prior to his death, so he was well versed in the art of stealth and camouflage. And he was a powerful warrior as well, his power sometimes rivaling that of Raiden's. Using his powerful hellfire magic to incinerate his enemies was but one of the ways he showed his strength and talent. But even Scorpion had his weaknesses. As such Shang Tsung felt it would be prudent to send backup with him.

For that, Shang Tsung felt there was only one choice… a Shokan. A member of a four-armed warrior race that was half human and half something else, the Shokan were allied with Shao Kahn and lived in the Kuatan region of Outworld. Their society was largely feudal in nature with a king and queen ruling the masses and representing their concerns to Shao Kahn. A crown prince or princess was the heir apparent and often had to contend with multiple challengers each seeking their perceived claim to the Shokan throne.

Among them, one rule stood above all others… survival of the fittest and most ruthless. And the Shokan were full of fine warriors. So which one did he send with Scorpion?

Goro was the obvious choice as he was the reigning prince of the Shokan and had been Outworld's champion in Earthrealm's Mortal Kombat tournaments. Unfortunately, he'd also been the one to lose to Liu Kang and ruined Shao Kahn's chances of invading Earth. There was Kintaro, a slightly less obvious choice who had replaced Goro as Outworld's champion after Goro's disastrous defeat. Problem was, Kintaro had also been defeated by Liu Kang.

There were others too like Duroc, Grum, Zenkaro and Sheeva, but they all served Shao Kahn in some minor capacity. Kintaro's defeat had been worse than Goro's and it was ultimately what had led to Shao Kahn's current favoritism towards the Centaurians. It was a position the Shokan hated as they had been enemies of the Centaurians for as far back as anyone could remember.

Shan Tsung smiled thinly. Hmm? Of course. Sending in one of the lesser Shokan made perfect sense. And of the lesser Shokan, Sheeva was the most likely choice. Though tall and very muscular, Sheeva being a female wasn't as big or muscular as say Goro or Kintaro. Therefore, she didn't stand out as much.

Sheeva had been an aide to Shao Kahn for many years and the personal bodyguard of Queen Sindel while she was still under Quan Chi's mind control. Like all Shokan, she had the ability to summon fireballs and the ability to teleport. Most Shokan channeled this ability into a devastating stomping attack and Sheeva was no exception to this.

Because of her sheer size, this aided Sheeva greatly when she had to make a sneak attack against someone. That's what Shang Tsung was counting on now. No way would she be the stealthy warrior like Scorpion, but she made up for it in sheer power and brutality. They were a perfect combination to find Skarlet and ward off anyone else who might want to find her.

With a sinister grin on his face, Shang Tsung outstretched his hand, opened a portal and departed for his own palace / fortress. He had work to do and he had to get started immediately.

 _Realm of Edenia, Royal Palace_

 _One week later_

A week had passed since the Outworld raid on Bexbran and there wasn't a single member of the Forces of Light that wasn't grieving over the loss of Master Masamune. He had been a great friend to Edenia and staunchly loyal to it and Raiden's mission to protect both Edenia and Earth. There wasn't a single person among them who felt otherwise.

Queen Sindel had taken the news of Masamune's death particularly hard as he had always reminded her of her late husband and Princess Kitana's father, King Jerrod. She had spent four entire days alone in her private suite dealing with the tragedy, emerging only every so often to eat and then retreating away once she was done. A part of her had loved Master Masamune almost as much as she had loved her late husband but she had never said anything about it. Now that it was too late, she was regretting her silence.

As a result, before retreating into her four day seclusion, she had decreed that Master Masamune would be buried in the Royal Cemetery, located just to the southwest of the palace's grounds. It was one of the most sacred places on all of Edenia as it was a final resting place for past Edenian rulers and public servants. She felt it was only right that someone who had been so dedicated to their cause be given a place of final rest in such a sanctified place. It was the least she could do.

Brett had spent the next six days personally digging Masamune's grave and preparing most of the landscaping all alone. He'd been in kind of a daze ever since Masamune's death and refused all offers of help in the preparation of the grave site. Often during that time, Jade or Kitana had to get him to stop to at least eat, drink and sleep. And even when he did he never ventured far from the site, often sleeping on the grass nearby when night fell.

The only thing Brett hadn't done was prepare the memorial obelisk that would be placed at the site once the funeral ceremony was complete and Masamune's body was interred for final rest. That was okay. The palace had hired the best stone carver on Edneia to do that job and Brett was pleased with the result. Besides, he would have plenty to do with the remaining landscaping that would be required once the ceremony was over.

More than once Brett tried to ask Masamune what he thought of the job he was doing, only to remember with great sadness that Masamune was the unwitting beneficiary of his labor. Often as he worked, Brett would think of that man who had delivered the final blow to his mentor. He'd never forget that face, the glowing white eyes or the black, pointed, curving tattoos on his face just like… like Sareena's tattoos.

That realization had caused Brett to question Sareena's true allegiance. The fact that they had almost identical facial tattoos couldn't be a coincidence. At the time, he'd decided to ask her about it some other day. Now was not the time to start questioning loyalties and Sareena hadn't even been at the Battle of Bexbran. Still the fact that she had similar tattoos as Masamune's killer warranted further investigation.

Pacing back and forth in the palace rotunda where Masamune's body had been kept under guard ever since returning from the battle, Brett watched as the last of the Edenian citizens exited after paying their final respects. The day after the battle Masamune's body had been placed in a gold-plated, bronze coffin, draped with the American and Edenian flags and put in the rotunda on a dais where it now rested. Queen Sindel had then issued a proclamation that it would lie in state for six days to give the Edenian citizens a chance to pay their last respects and say goodbye to the fallen warrior.

It amazed Brett as to just how many had turned out to view the casket. There were respected heads of state back on Earth that had less people pay their final respects upon their death. In all, nearly a quarter of Edenia's population turned out over the six days to pay their final respects. And now, acting on the direction of Queen Sindel's order, the doors of the rotunda and the palace in general were closed to the public giving Brett a few moments alone with the casket.

He seethed with fury even as he sadly touched casket and leaned his head against it. Masamune's assassin, Shao Kahn, that crazed lunatic with the pointy teeth, even Skarlet to a point… they all filled him with rage and made his blood boil. More than once he had to stop working on whatever he was doing just to get himself to calm down and now was no different. _Calm down a bit,_ he told himself. _There may be a time when justice will be delivered. But now, you need to concentrate on the current task which is this funeral. He sighed deeply. A funeral you knew was coming one day, but not so soon. Guess it's true what they say. When the end comes, you're never really prepared for it._

His body trembled as, not for the first time, he cried over the loss of his friend and mentor. All this insanity unfolding around him and he'd perhaps lost the one person who could guide him through it all before he'd ever had a chance to. Standing there all alone with Masamune's casket, Brett had never felt more lost or isolated in his life than he did at that moment. Even the feelings of loneliness he'd experienced after the accident and the dissolution of his marriage paled in comparison to what he was feeling now.

After what seemed like an eternity, Kitana arrived in the rotunda carrying the bagpipes she had retrieved from the music room per Brett's request. He was going to need them for the ceremony, though she wasn't sure why. Seeing him in such an upset state broke Kitana's heart. Though she'd only known him for a couple of weeks now, she was already very fond of him and hated seeing him as upset as he was.

She couldn't stand it any longer. Hurrying over to him, she placed the pipes on the coffin and embraced him tightly from behind. Doing so brought her own grief back to the forefront and she began crying with him.

As his face was still leaning against the cold metal of the casket, Brett had no idea who was holding him and at that particular moment, he couldn't have cared less. Just the touch of another human, the softness and warmth; the feeling that someone cared meant more to him than Kitana knew. He reached to his left, found her hand and held it tightly in his own.

After a time, he finally calmed down to the point where he was able to stand up straight again and see who was behind him. He was pleasantly surprised to see it was Kitana, her face and reddened eyes a mask of anguish and sorrow like his was. "Thank you for that Kitana," he said referring to her embrace. "I needed it more than you realize."

She smiled sadly and nodded. "You're welcome." She touched the bagpipes she'd brought with her. "I brought the pipes like you asked."

"Thanks," he replied. He stared at the casket for a moment, and laid his hand on it one last time. "You know I always knew I'd bury him. He never married and he never any children of his own. So I always knew I'd be the one to bury him. I just never imagined it would be this soon… or in a place like this… or under such damnable circumstances."

Kitana reached out and drew him into her arms, once again warmly embracing him. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and pulled back. "Brett, I… I…" She fumbled with her words.

He reached out and touched her lips. "You don't have to say anything Kitana," he assured her. "Just…" he thumped Masamune's casket lightly, but in great frustration. "Thanks for being here. Thanks for being his friend."

Kitana reached out and touched his face. "You're welcome Brett," she said. "But I'm your friend too. So is Jade. So are a lot of us. You're still very mysterious to most of us and we have no idea just what trials and tribulations you went through in your former life back on Earthrealm. But whatever they were, please know in your heart of hearts that whenever you feel like you may not have any friends anywhere, at the absolute very least you have me and Jade."

Given his recent past, Brett wasn't sure if he truly believed that or not. Nevertheless, he nodded in appreciation. "I'll never forget it Kitana," he told her. "I promise." He glanced at the closed door in the direction the funeral procession would travel once the ceremony officially began and sighed deeply. "I guess we'd better get started. This ceremony isn't going to conclude itself."

Kitana nodded and turned in the opposite direction, nodding her head again. At that signal, Jade entered the rotunda followed by Sonya Blade, Bo-Rai Cho, Nightwolf, Smoke, Sub Zero, Cyrax and Jax. As he had several duties to perform during the ceremony, Jade was acting as his second, which actually meant very little but he was grateful she'd volunteered for it.

And truth be told, she'd done a lot to prepare for this ceremony already. When Masamune's body was placed in the rotunda, Jax, Johnny and Stryker had approached him about giving Masamune a funeral based on a United States' military funeral. Brett had been surprised by the request and yet he been honored by it as well. Though they had their differences, Brett knew this was not the time to let old wounds and grudges be the center of attention. This was about his friend and mentor, not about past misdeeds.

Even so, Brett had spent most of the time digging the grave, so he had entrusted his role in planning the funeral to Jade… a task she had accepted without hesitation despite knowing very little about Earthrealm funerals. When she had expressed her doubts, he merely reassured her by saying to just do her best and that Masamune would be pleased by whatever they came up with. And when it had all been finalized and Jade had gone over what the sequence of events would be Brett knew she hadn't let him down.

Like Kitana, Jade gave Brett a tender embrace and a kiss on the cheek. "I hope this ceremony is everything you hoped it would be. I tried my best."

Brett nodded. "I know you did Jade. Thanks." He looked at the others who had been chosen to be Masamune's pall bearers and said, "Thank you for helping with this. You have no idea how much I appreciate it."

They all nodded in return and Nightwolf added, "We're ready when you are honored sir."

Brett nodded in return. He'd officially met Nightwolf and Bo-Rai Cho a few days after the battle when they both had been summoned to the palace to learn their official duties for the funeral. Though little been had been said, Brett respected both men a great deal. He and Bo-Rai Cho had even drunk a farewell toast to Masamune the night before. A toast that turned into a serious drinking session for Bo-Rai Cho and a raging headache when he woke up this morning.

"Let's begin then," Brett said as he picked up the pipes. As he blew into the bag to inflate it, a few awkward notes were issued, common with the instrument. The doors to the rotunda were reopened and revealed Johnny and Stryker standing immediately in front of the door facing him, holding an American flag and an Edenian flag respectively.

The flag of Edenia was two large fields of blue and red, bisected diagonally and a large yellow dot in the center. _Wonder why they chose the primary colors to be on their flag,_ Brett wondered as both men made a "Present Arms" gesture with their flags.

Behind Johnny and Stryker was a shiny black, horse drawn limber and caisson which would transport the casket the short distance from the palace rotunda to the grave site. A trainer held the horse's reins from a standing position in front while a pair of boots, symbolizing the fallen warrior, had been placed in the stirrups. Brett couldn't help but smile. _Yeah, this is what Masamune would've wanted._ He started walking up to his mark in front of the limber and caisson as Jax ordered the pall bearers to take their places around the casket.

Skarlet groaned and squeezed her eyes shut even tighter than they already were. That noise! What was it? It was ear splitting. She covered her ears and rolled over on the hard surface, trying desperately to shut the dreadful sound out. It sounded like… horns? Oh Gods, was she having her dream again? Was that metal behemoth hurtling at her again?

She suddenly sat bolt upright and her eyes darted in all directions. Skarlet didn't see the titanic metal monster charging at her. The light was coming from a nearby window. Okay, that was good at least. But she also found herself inside very unfamiliar surroundings and she began to panic. Everywhere her eyes looked, she saw wooden framework, old possessions belonging to someone she didn't know or a thin layer of dust covering everything. What the hell was this? Where was she?

She took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. But the layer of filth caused her to start coughing profusely. Oh Gods, where the hell was she? When she finally stopped coughing, she became aware that her side and neck were in pain. Looking down, she saw that she'd been lying on a hard wood, and not at all polished, floor. A small stack of old books was nearby and Skarlet correctly guessed that she'd been resting her head on them just moments earlier.

As he sleep dulled brain began to fully awaken, Skarlet realized she was in a cramped house attic. But whose house was it? And how the hell had she'd gotten inside? _Skarlet, relax,_ she told herself as she began to recall the events of the previous day. _You hid in here yourself last night, remember?_

She coughed a couple more times as her breathing and racing pulse finally started to slow down. It had taken Skarlet six days to complete the journey from Bexbran to the Edenian Royal Palace and it had not been at all easy. Six days of what seemed like endless walking. Six days of trudging through forests, over hills and across grassy plains. Six days of getting scorched by the sun, blasted by the wind and drenched by the rain. Six days of not a lot of food or water and sleep only when her body absolutely demanded it.

The one more or less relaxing part of the journey had come on night two when she'd been forced to stow away on an average sized boat for a trip up a river. She'd shimmied up the anchor rope and snuck her way around to the lower decks. Even though the crew was aboard, they hadn't spotted her and she'd taken the opportunity to rest. The next morning, when she'd awakened, she'd made a discreet exit into the water and continued her journey.

Six days of all of this and more as she determinedly marched on towards her goal… the Edenian Royal Palace. But then, that really wasn't her ultimate goal. _Him,_ she told herself. _Brett Hudson. Seeing him again is your ultimate goal. Don't forget that, otherwise what's the point in pushing onward?_

She recalled having nervous thoughts over what she would do when she finally did see him again. What would she do? What would she say? Would he welcome her or would he challenge her? Was all this a big mistake? Was she just marching straight ahead to her doom by continuing this seemingly pointless mission to see him again?

The fact that Skarlet sensed she was being followed didn't do much to lift her spirits. No doubt Shao Kahn had sent a search party of some sort to try and locate her after she'd failed to return from the raid. And if that was true, that party may be tailing her simply because they were curious to know where she was going. After all, conventional wisdom said that she would've remained around Bexbran after she'd failed to return. But that was now countless miles behind her.

Yet she'd kept pushing on because try as she might, she just could not ignore that vision. That vision she'd had in the second before she checked the swing that would've killed him. No matter what, she had to know if what she saw in that vision had a chance of being true. And it was that desire to know in her heart and soul that insisted she keep pushing onward. Almost as if the Elder Gods themselves were driving her onward.

And finally, just after dark the previous night, Skarlet had achieved at least part of her goal. She'd made it to the palace. But she immediately been confronted with a crushing reality. How the hell did she get inside without attracting attention? Sneaking aboard a lightly staffed boat was one thing. Sneaking into a heavily guarded palace was something else entirely.

Well whatever the answer was, it needed to wait. By the time Skarlet arrived, she was so exhausted from her journey, that she just needed a place to rest for a while. But where could she rest safely?

After scouting the perimeter of the palace for over an hour, she'd come across this quaint little house that appeared to be on the palace property, yet it was somehow separated from it. Ordinarily, her natural curiosity would've kicked in and demanded she do some exploring. But with as tired as she'd been at the time, there was no way that was going to happen.

There had been a single light on in the house when she'd arrived, but further scouting of the place revealed the owner was not home. So she'd cautiously let herself in. Whoever owned this residence lived alone and very simply as the furnishings were not at all elaborate and, in fact, very utilitarian in appearance. There was lot of dirt of the floor and it appeared the homeowner hadn't swept up in some time.

Continuing her exploration, Skarlet had found a couple scraps of food to eat that she didn't think the homeowner would miss. Although not particularly tasty, it was adequate at least for the time being. Still, because of her unique creation she would require some blood sooner or later.

She'd then heard footsteps in the distance and deduced the homeowner was returning. Quickly Skarlet had scooted upstairs and searched for a place to hide. There had only been three rooms on the second level of the house, two bedrooms and a bathroom. In one of the bedrooms, she'd found a hatch in the ceiling that led to the attic where she now was and leaped through it.

Skarlet remembered hearing the homeowner enter a moment or so later, but not much after that until this very moment. She assumed she'd fallen asleep shortly after the homeowner returned. And now the dreadful honking had woken her up. What the hell was it coming from?

Still a bit groggy from the ordeal and by the rather rude awakening, Skarlet crawled towards the single window that illuminated the attic and was stunned by what she saw. The palace was a reasonably short distance away, but arrayed immediately before her was a vast cemetery that hosted dozens of elaborately designed memorial head stones, obelisks and mausoleums. Brightly colored flowers and ornately designed gardens added cheerful décor to the otherwise somber place.

The massive amount of dirt she'd found in dwelling the previous night now made sense to her. She was in the home of the cemetery caretaker. The dirt he tracked into his home was just a consequence of his daily duties. And she wondered what it was like to be the person responsible for maintaining such a… sacred place. As she looked over the scene, she felt an aura of reverence in her soul. On Outworld, dead bodies were typically just disposed of by burning them in a fire. They weren't typically given a final place of rest like this and it intrigued her.

But what fascinated her even more than the grandeur of the cemetery, was the sheer number of people that were gathered there right now, at this very moment. It seemed like there were hundreds of people, if not thousands gathered for some reason. And among them, she could clearly see Queen Sindel, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Kai and many other Forces of Light warriors. Skarlet was further taken aback when she recognized Lord Raiden standing among them too.

All of them were gathered near an empty hole in the ground marked by a large carved stone obelisk. In front of the hole was a small temporary dais a few feet long and a couple feet wide. Several vast bouquets of colorful flowers surrounded the dais. Behind the hole was a small temporary stage with a podium.

It was a fresh burial site. Was this a funeral? Like cemeteries, Skarlet had heard of funerals before but had never actually witnessed one before. From what she'd heard about them, it was supposed to be a somber ceremony where people gathered to pay their last wishes and respects to someone who had recently died. And from the events that had recently transpired, Skarlet concluded that it could only be the funeral for Master Masamune.

A second or two later, she again heard the blaring horns that had first woken her. Looking to her left, she saw a parade of people walking slowly, but with purpose towards the burial site. The first thing that got her attention was the horse drawn limber and caisson that carried the casket. The horse had no rider but was instead, being led by a trainer who walked on foot. Behind the casket was a group of Forces of Light warriors, all of whom Skarlet recognized.

Walking immediately ahead of the horse that pulled the limber and caisson were Johnny Cage and Stryker. Each of them was holding a flag, one of which Skarlet recognized as the Edenian flag. The other flag of red, white and blue she didn't know. Just ahead of them, Princess Kitana and Jade walked side by side and leading the procession was the very goal of her journey… Brett Hudson.

She felt her heart skip a beat when she saw him again. She wanted to call out to him, get his attention somehow. But then, she felt it would be disrespectful to interrupt this funeral ceremony. Not to mention, the other members of the Forces of Light might not be all that excited to see her.

She realized that it was he who was playing the horns that had woken her up. But upon a closer look at the instrument, the best one that could be afforded at the distance that separated them, they appeared to be pipes, not horns. He was blowing into a bag and appeared to be manipulating it to make the sounds emanating from it. Sounds that Skarlet soon realized were actually musical notes.

She found it rather charming that Brett seemed to know how to play music. Taking a moment to truly listen to it, Skarlet found the melody to be beautiful, but haunting. Not haunting in a creepy way, but in a sad, melancholy way. And she felt a lump in her throat as she listened. Hearing its evocative melody made Skarlet feel something she never had before.

Loss.

She briefly turned away from the scene. _How can I be feeling this,_ she wondered. _I never knew him. How can I be feeling like I've lost something when I didn't even know I had it to begin with?_

She turned back to face the funeral ceremony again, her heart in her throat, yet utterly fascinated with anticipation of what was going to come next.

To Brett Hudson, few songs were lovelier sounding, yet had the raw power to pull relentlessly at a person's heart, than the sound of "Amazing Grace" being played on the bagpipes. And if no one believed that, all one had to do was look behind him at Princess Kitana and Jade and how the tears were streaming down their cheeks. Not just them either, but the faces of everyone who had come to view this final service for Master Masamune.

As the harmonious yet downhearted melody of that very song echoed throughout, he silently thanked his long passed Grandpa Hudson for teaching him this part of his Scottish ancestry. It had been years since he'd played the pipes and he'd never actually owned a set. But how to play came back to him relatively easily the instant he's first put his mouth to the inflation pipe.

He was actually kind of amazed that he'd remembered how to play the bagpipes after so long because it was a lot more difficult than people realized. There were numerous reasons why this was so, but the most obvious was that since the pipes were always sounding, there were absolutely no short periods of silence where a player could adjust his fingers in anticipation of which notes were coming.

As he led the funeral procession up the path from the palace rotunda to the burial site, he looked on either side to see the throngs of people that had turned out for the ceremony. Two thousand people had been granted special access to the Royal Cemetery to view the funeral, via a lottery of sorts. Never in Brett's wildest dreams could he have imagined so many people turning out for his Uncle Yama's funeral. What a difference he must've made in these people's lives to have earned such an honor.

He crested the final rise before arriving at the burial site and his gaze fell upon the many members of the Forces of Light who were gathered there. Among them were Queen Sindel who was practically bawling her eyes out, Tanya, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Sareena… everyone who was not a part of the procession. Not a single member of the Forces of Light had failed to turn up for this event and Brett was grateful for it.

There wasn't a dry eye among them as Brett passed by with the pipes and halted in front of the temporary dais, the rest of the procession following suit. He finished the latest repetition of the song's melody before finally stopping. He turned and handed the instrument to Kitana who accepted them with a trembling arm. "It was beautiful Brett," she whispered.

He nodded in gratitude.

Back behind the limber and caisson, Jax ordered, "Take positions." With that the six pall bearers, three on each side marched up to the rear of the caisson and faced each other. With that done, Jax shouted, "Place colors!"

Up at the front of the group, Johnny and Stryker, turned away from each other and walked six steps each before turning forward again. Marching ahead past the assemblage, they moved to the dais and turned inward. On each end of the dais was a flag holder and the men mounted their flags in them before retracing their steps back to where they'd started.

"Remove the honored," Jax ordered and the pall bearers methodically removed Masamune's casket from the caisson before turning to hold it in the proper manner befitting a pall bearer. Jax then spent the next couple of minutes issuing a series of commands that saw the pall bearers march with the casket out from behind the caisson and up alongside the procession until it was placed on the dais. He then took a moment to ensure the flags were draped neatly and centered as best they could be over the casket. With that done, he marched over to Brett, faced him eye to eye and rendered a hand salute.

With a nod, Brett returned the salute and walked up to the podium to deliver the eulogy as Jax did an about-face. "Be seated please," Brett said to the gathered masses. He waited patiently until everyone was comfortable before beginning.

"How does one sum up the life of Yamato Masamune?" Brett asked the crowd. "To put it simply, it was a trial by fire. Uncle Yama, as I often called him, was born in Hiroshima, Japan in 1941 as the years are measured on Earthrealm. For those of you who do not know my world's history, at that time it was consumed by the bloodiest war it had ever seen before or since. World War Two. A couple of years later, his family relocated to Kyoto which was fortunate. Because at the end of World War Two, his home town of Hiroshima was utterly destroyed by a single, devastating attack.

"He emigrated to the United States when he was only ten years old," Brett went on. "And he became a naturalized citizen at age eighteen. Like my father, Uncle Yama got drafted into the US Army in 1962. Ended up in 'Nam with the 7th Cavalry at the Battle of Ia Drang among other places. During that particular battle, he pulled five wounded comrades back from the line and carried them to a makeshift hospital some hundred yards away. Earned himself the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions.

"When he left the Army in 1970, he put all his worldly possessions into a single duffel bag and went for a walk… a walk that lasted seven years. He walked across America I don't know how many times. From sea to shining sea. And being a Vietnam Vet, he had to endure. Endure the fact that most of the American population vilified him for serving in an unpopular war. He and countless others like him were labeled so many horrifying things, I cannot bring myself to repeat them here in his final moments of tribute."

Brett paused to take a deep breath and regain control of his emotions. "But through it all, he maintained a positive spirit and positive attitude. He never let anything get him down for very long because he felt it was a waste of time and energy. And I have never known anyone who was more willing to jump in to a situation and help his fellow man whether he knew the person or not. I suspect that's a big reason why Raiden singled him out to help defend Edenia and Earth in their struggle against Outworld."

Down in the crowd, Raiden subtly nodded. _You'd be right,_ he thought.

"No matter how bad things got, you could always count on him to be there for you," Brett kept going. "Even if all he did was try to lift your spirits." Another deep breath. "My high school sweetheart was murdered and he was there for me. My best friend was killed in Afghanistan. Uncle Yama was there for me. I was in a horrible accident that killed more than 50 people, most of them innocent children. Uncle Yama was there for me. I lost everything I had including my good name as a result. I didn't lose my Uncle Yama. My ex-wife abandoned me when I needed her most. My Uncle Yama was there for me when I need him. He never abandoned me.

"I stand here now paying my respects to my Uncle Yama," Brett said. "But as I look around here, I see hundreds if not thousands of people whose lives were just as touched by him as mine was. Most of you knew him as Master Masamune. But if you all look back over your memories of him, I would be willing to bet my life, that at some point he did something to help you that was for you and you alone. Whatever that something was, remember it. Treasure the memories of it. Treasure your memories of him. When you do, I think you'll discover that he was more than just Master Masamune. He was your Uncle Yama too."

He looked out over the crowd and saw their faces. Many like Sindel were crying while others just had long, somber expressions on their faces. A few of them such as Kitana and Jade were slowly nodding in agreement at Brett's words.

"I ask you all now to be upstanding as we present a final salute to this most honorable man and warrior who died fighting for what he believed in," Brett said. "Fighting for you, for all of us, for Edenia and for Earth."

As the crowd came to its feet, Brett descended from the podium and stood next to Jax. As he moved, Johnny Cage and Stryker, walked the same pattern they had earlier and retrieved the flags. Returning back to their positions, they faced the casket.

"Present… arms!" Jax shouted. Johnny and Stryker each raised their flag up, then thrust it out straight ahead. Brett rendered a hand salute as Jax put a bugle to lips and began to play the somber, twenty-four note tune of final salute… Taps.

From her hiding place in the caretaker's house, Skarlet wiped the tears from her cheeks as she watched Brett descend from the podium after delivering the eulogy. Accident? Ex-wife? What did he mean by all that?

She promised herself to ask him about that if she ever got a chance to speak to him again. For now though, it didn't matter. Sniffing in sadness and wiping more tears from her face, she watched as Jax gave the present arms command and began to play a curious looking horn. For a second she fear it might have the same tone as the horns from her dreams, but it didn't.

To Skarlet, the tune that was played was even more poignant and wretched than the tune she'd heard Brett playing as the ceremony began. It sounded… lonely, desolate. It was perhaps the loneliest thing she'd ever heard in her life. And as it continued, in her mind's eye Skarlet could see Masamune with that duffel bag Brett had described, slung over his shoulder, walking. Walking with the wind in his hair towards a faraway place all alone. But as the tune and her mental picture continued playing, the image changed and she realized she wasn't looking at Masamune anymore. She was looking at herself.

She couldn't help it. Burying her face in her hands, Skarlet broke down in cries and sobs of unhappiness. _What is wrong with you Skarlet,_ she tried to tell herself. _You're Shao Kahn's finest enforcer and assassin. Why are you suddenly so emotional? Get a grip on yourself._

Her own words failed to move her and a flood of images and feelings surged through her. She thought about how horribly she was treated by her "father" Shao Kahn, her "sister" Mileena and all of his other minions. She thought about how Ermac had tried to take advantage of her and then convinced Kahn that she was nothing more than a bloodthirsty, mentally unstable creature when she'd rejected him. She thought about how she was kept locked up like an animal unless Kahn specifically called for her. She thought about the humiliation she had to endure being fed by others and followed to the restroom every time she needed to use it.

And with that, the utter pointlessness of her life hit her between the eyes.

 _Is that all I am? Someone else's toy? Is that what I've been all along? S_ he wailed to herself. _I'm all alone. I'm lonely. I don't want to be alone._

 _You won't be Skarlet,_ she heard a voice say. _Be patient._ _Stay your current course. You will soon be rewarded._

What? What was that? Who was speaking to her? Skarlet looked around in all directions for any sign of who was talking to her. But she saw nothing. Could it have been Elder Gods? Were they guiding her and giving her advice? It sounded crazy, but in light of everything else that had happened to her over the past week or so, crazy seemed to be becoming the new norm.

A few moments later when she'd dried her eyes and composed herself enough to observe the ceremony again, she saw that Johnny and Stryker had returned their flags to each side of the dais again. Now Johnny and Sonya were neatly folding the strange red, white and blue flag Skarlet had seen earlier. Jax and Stryker were doing the same thing to the blue, red and yellow Edenian flag.

When they were finished, both flags had been folded into tight triangle shapes. Stryker presented the Edenian flag to Queen Sindel who accepted it graciously. He exchanged a few words with her that Skarlet was too far away to hear but could nevertheless tell were appreciated. Johnny presented his strange flag to Brett who nodded once in appreciation. They said a few unheard words to each other before Brett turned and passed the flag to Jade. Accepting it from him, she kissed it once and held it tightly to her chest.

As the two of them returned to their positions, a ceremonial honor guard of seven Royal Palace Guards marched on to the field. Passing the casket, they turned and walked single file until they all were perpendicular to it and came to a stop. Wondering what was happening next, Skarlet watched as Kitana walked up and stood behind the last palace guard in the line.

"Ready…" Kitana shouted and all seven of the guards came to a crisp position of attention. At the same time, all of their right arms were held a preparatory to throw position and their corresponding hands glowed white.

"Aim…" Kitana ordered. The seven guards turned and faced left. As they did, they took one step back and shifted their weight to their right legs. The left arm was held out straight at an increasing angle.

"Fire!" Kitana commanded. The seven guards each took one step forward and hurled the magical missile they had each been preparing up into the air. A short distance of travel and they exploded with a loud bang.

Skarlet watched intently as Kitana ran the drill two more times, completing the Three Volley salute. "Ready… aim… fire! Ready… aim… fire!" The princess then commanded the honor guard to be at ease and she returned to her original position and Brett once again mounted the podium.

"Be seated please," Skarlet heard him say. To her it seemed like he was going to start speaking again. But he was taking his time in doing so. It therefore surprised her when instead of speaking, Brett began to sing.

 _Amazing grace, how sweet the sound_

 _That saved a wretch like me_

 _I once was lost, but now am found;_

 _Was blind, but now I see._

' _Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,_

 _And grace my fears relieved;_

 _How precious did that grace appear_

 _The hour I first believed._

It was the same song she'd heard him playing on those weird looking pipes when she'd first seen him. That beautiful melody she'd thought had a rather depressing sound to it when she'd first heard it. Listening to Brett sing the words now, Skarlet was surprised to learn the song wasn't that depressing at all. In fact, despite its slow melody, it was actually kind of uplifting in its sound.

 _Through many dangers, toils and snares,_

 _I have already come;_

' _Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,_

 _And grace will lead me home._

 _Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,_

 _And mortal life shall cease,_

 _I shall possess, within the veil,_

 _A life of joy and peace._

As she continued to listen, Skarlet began to feel disgust and revulsion at what she was and why Shao Kahn had created her. In those moments, she realized that Shao Kahn's finest assassin and enforcer was what everyone else around her wanted and expected her to be. But it wasn't what she wanted to be. She wanted to be Skarlet.

 _When we've been there ten thousand years,_

 _Bright shining as the sun,_

 _We've no less days to sing God's praise_

 _Than when we'd first begun._

And with that realization came hope. Hope the she could discover who she truly was and why she truly existed. Brett had said she could be more than she was and he was right. She didn't know what more she could be but now, more than ever, she was determined to find out.

 _Amazing grace, how sweet the sound_

 _That saved a wretch like me_

 _I once was lost, but now am found;_

 _Was blind, but now I see._

Though her tears were still falling when Brett finished singing, she had a smile on her face. She was done being someone else's slave. She'd had enough of being treated like nothing more than a wild animal locked in a cage. She was finished with being an assassin, enforcer and protector for someone who did not deserve any such protection. She didn't care that Shao Kahn was her "father". She was through with being his "dutiful daughter" as he expected her to be. She was done being manipulated by Shao Kahn and every damn one of his lackeys to be someone that they expected her to be.

She was through serving Shao Kahn and every single last one of his minions.

And she swore to herself that from that moment forward, she would follow her own heart and use her own mind to make the decisions she felt were best for her. She would decide what was right and what was wrong for herself. She would seek out the guidance and closeness of those who truly wanted the best for her and not manipulate her into something she didn't want to be.

And right now, the person she wanted that closeness from was the man who had spared her life when he didn't have to.

After he finished, Brett returned to the podium to make an announcement. "I now invite the members of the Forces of Light to come up and pay their final respects to this most devoted warrior and humble man that all of you called friend and comrade." With that, he stepped aside to make way for them.

The first to take Brett up on the invitation was Queen Sindel. Being a closed casket ceremony, she couldn't see his body, but nevertheless placed her hand on the casket about where his head would be. She sniffed loudly and nearly broke down in tears. "I loved you Masamune," she said in a trembling voice. "I think you knew that. And I think you loved me too, even if you never said it." Her tears fell on his casket and she wiped them from her eyes. "I hope I'll see you again one day."

Liu Kang approached the casket next as Kitana helped her sobbing mother return to her seat. "You were an honorable warrior Masamune. I was proud to call you my friend. I still am and I always will be."

With tears in her eyes, Sareena was next. She sniffed, dried them as best she could and placed both her hands on the casket. "You helped guide me and my sister Ashrah from an eternity of damnation and darkness to a bright future of hope and light. I'll never forget that. Neither of us will. Goodbye Master. Sleep well."

The next person to the casket was Cyrax. He looked down at the casket and fought back his own emotions. "So long Master Masamune," he said. "You fought the good fight and died a warrior's death. And with that, you have truly earned your rest. But I promise you, you will live on in our hearts and minds."

Having helped her mother be seated once again, Kitana took her turn at the casket, affectionately running her hand along its length. "I never knew my real father," she said as the tears fell from her eyes. "But if I had, I like to think he would've been like you. I sought out your advice and wisdom more often than you'll ever know. Thank you." She then leaned forward and softly kissed the casket.

The next to approach the coffin was Sub Zero. With a grim expression, he placed his hand upon it. "Goodbye Yama. The Lin Kuei would've been proud to have you among its ranks… at least when it still had some honor. We'll all miss your quick wit and your cheerful disposition. They were a true gift and the realms are darker places without them. Godspeed Master."

Smoke was up after that. "A warrior is more than his strength or knowledge," he said. "A true warrior is measured by his courage, but most importantly by the integrity of his heart. You were embodiment of that proverb Master Masamune. Farewell."

One by one, every other member of the Forces of Light stepped forward to pay their final respects including Ashrah, Jax, Sonya, Stryker and Johnny. Brett barely heard what any of them said but he was grateful for their kindness. All he could really think about though was that he truly had nothing left now.

Jade was one of the last people to step forward. "I still can't quite believe you're really gone," she cried, trying not to break down in sobs. "I keep waiting for you to show up somewhere with that insufferably optimistic grin of yours." She failed to keep it together and her tears began to flow freely down her face. She turned and glanced back at Brett, then leaned closer to the coffin. "I'll watch over him," she whispered. "I swear to you Master… I'll watch over him."

The absolute last one to step forward was Raiden himself. He kissed the medallion that he always carried with him, either kept in a pocket or hung around his neck. He then used it to trace a religious symbol over the coffin as he said a prayer in a language no one understood. He then traced another symbol of some kind over the coffin and said, "May your transition to the next life be quick and painless," he said.

With final respects complete, Brett nodded to Queen Sindel who turned to a high ranking member of the palace guard. She raised her right hand over her head and lowered it to about chest height. The guardsman in turn, repeated the gesture to another unseen individual some distance away. The result of this hand signal relay came a short time later when Brett witnessed the Edenian flag that flew above the palace lower to half-staff.

It was over. There was nothing more to say and little more to be done. Brett returned to the podium and said, "Lord Raiden, Queen Sindel, Princess Kitana, Honored Jade, members of the Forces of Light, Distinguished Guests, ladies and gentlemen… the limber and caisson will now return to the palace. At that time, this ceremony will be concluded. I thank you all for being here and for paying your final respects to my dear Uncle Yama. And I thank you all for being his friends and for always making sure he never felt lost and alone in a strange place. He loved you all. From the bottom of my heart… thank you for showing him such hospitality and reverence. Thank you one and all."

With that, he stepped down from the podium and descended the dais steps to the ground where Kitana once more handed him his bagpipes. Jax gave a series of orders and the limber and caisson turned around as Johnny and Stryker retrieved the flags. As they prepared to return to the palace, Brett prepared to play the song he'd selected to conclude this somber ceremony.

It's a Long Road.

As he took his post behind the limber and caisson, Brett felt that some might very well question his choice. Perhaps they'd even ridicule it. It was after all, the theme song to the Rambo series of movies. But for this he would play the instrumental version. He had no idea how it would sound on bagpipes as opposed to horns, but at that moment he didn't care. It seemed appropriate and that was that.

Jax gave the command to return to the palace. "Forward… march!"

Skarlet watched the members of the Forces of Light each speak a few words in final tribute to Master Masamune. And as she listened to each one, she wished she could be among them. She too wanted to say something in his honor. But what could she say? She'd never really known him and she was a servant of Shao Kahn and the forces of Outworld.

 _Correction,_ she told herself. _You stopped being an Outworld servant the minute you decided to trek halfway across Edenia just so you could see Brett Hudson again._ Still, there was a legitimate point. Up until she'd discovered the man who had constantly been in her dreams was real, she'd dutifully obeyed Shao Kahn like everyone else that surrounded him had and still did.

She watched as the palace flag was lowered to half-staff and listened as Brett made the announcement that the touching ceremony was more or less over. It had been beautiful. And despite the fact that Skarlet still didn't know much about funerals, it had seemed fitting somehow.

He began to play those curious looking pipes again as he headed back to the palace along with that wagon or whatever he'd called it. But this time the melody he played was different from that sad, melancholy sounding one he'd played when the ceremony had begun. The tone of it started out rather soft and gentle and she found it was rather pleasing to listen to. It almost sounded like the song was taking the listener on a journey of sorts.

As it went on, the tune got stronger and much more powerful in its presentation. And it seemed to take on a more heroic tone. Like it was referring to someone who had persevered against impossible odds and come out the victor against whatever trials had been endured. But even so there was a faint hint of loneliness in the melody as if that dogged determination had come at great expense.

She bowed her head and closed her eyes in respect for the departed Master Masamune. And as she did, she once more experienced the vision of her locked in a tender embrace with him. _I know what the vision is telling me,_ she thought. _But is it real? Can it possibly be true?_

Skarlet couldn't stand it anymore as she watched him disappear from sight. She wasn't going to get any answers sitting here in the cemetery caretaker's cottage. She had to get into the palace. She had to see him again. She had to talk to him, touch him. She had to know once and for all what these visions in her head were and whether any of them could possibly be true.

But she was still presented with a unique problem. As she'd just thought, she had to get into the palace. But that was going to be far easier said than done. The caretaker's cottage was a couple hundred meters from the palace proper, and between here and there were still dozens upon dozens of people. She'd be seen in a second and Skarlet didn't think the palace Royal Guard would believe her story if she told them of her visions and dreams. Of her desire to see Brett Hudson again.

But something was urging her to find a way. There was danger close by, she could sense it. There was of course, her lingering suspicion that she'd been followed all this way, but that wasn't it. There was something else. Something elusive. Something she couldn't quite identify. But it was out there, stalking him.

She looked out over the crowd still gathered at the funeral site, yet only just starting to disperse. How did she get to the palace without attracting attention? There was an awful lot of ground to cover between here and there. And then there were the warriors of the Forces of Light, palace guards, Edenian troops, palace caretakers, gardeners and hundreds of civilians blocking her path. It seemed hopeless.

She furrowed her eyebrows. Wait a second. Maybe it wasn't that hopeless. Caretakers? Gardeners? Civilians? Maybe, just maybe she could get lost in the crowd somehow. She had to move quickly though before they dispersed too much.

Skarlet considered her options. _It's worth a shot,_ she told herself.

Finally getting to her feet, she scooted across the attic and poked her head back through the access hatch. She failed to hear any noise even though she listened intently. But with the amount of racket still emanating from the cemetery, that didn't necessarily mean much.

She dropped to the floor into the spare bedroom and made her way to the door. Stopping to listen again, Skarlet still couldn't hear enough to ascertain whether the caretaker was in the house or not. Peering into the upstairs hallway, she decided to take a chance and made her way to the top of the stairs.

Once more she listened for any sign of the caretaker but as with before, failed to hear any signs he was nearby. So she swiftly descended the stairs to the ground floor. The smell of recently cooked food wafted through the air and she quickly inspected the kitchen to discover a pile of fresh bread and a mountain of cooked bacon rested on the stove.

Though she might have been tempted to sample some of the food, Skarlet knew she didn't have much time, and her plan relied on her being able to find a few items somewhere in this house. She moved on and when she failed to find the caretaker in the sitting room and the master bedroom, she concluded he was not in the house.

Skarlet spent a few moments carefully rummaging through the dresser and closet, looking for the objects of her search. She could've tossed everything everywhere if she'd wanted to but then once the caretaker saw the mess, he'd no doubt alert the palace guards and that was something Skarlet did not need at the moment. While she held no illusions she would eventually be discovered, she wanted to delay that moment as much as possible and leaving the caretaker's house a mess would not be the best way to avoid detection. She had to at least avoid being spotted until she'd had a chance to see Brett and explain why she was there.

A sudden thought occurred to her. What _would_ she say to him when she saw him again? _Didn't really think that far ahead, did you?_ She berated herself. _What are you going to do? Stroll up to him and say, 'Oh hi there, it's me again and despite the fact we nearly killed each other last time we met, I really needed to see you because you've been plaguing my dreams for months?' He'll think you're crazy._ She snorted. _Maybe I am in a way._

Whatever her thoughts were on the subject, she decided to figure out those answers as she went. For in the closet, she finally found what she was looking for… an old, faded pair of pants, a dirty long-sleeved work shirt, filthy work boots and an old, tattered hat. Skarlet was repulsed by them, but if her plan was going to succeed, she needed to put them on.

A few moments later, she inspected her disguise in the mirror. The rough fabric chafed against her bare skin and was altogether very uncomfortable. The boots were heavy on her feet, the pants were a little too big and the shirt was a bit too long. She'd partially compensated for that by tucking the shirt into the pants as much as she could, filling them out quite a bit. And she stuffed her hair up into the hat as she put it on, resulting in it being a little snug on her head.

All in all, she looked kind of ridiculous in her hasty disguise, but she didn't care. If this was what it was going to take to get into the palace, so be it. She had to move though. The crowd outside had thinned even more. There was just one last problem to take care of.

Her own wardrobe. Donning this disguise had forced Skarlet to remove her shoulder armor, forearm gauntlets, facial hood, swords and boots. She now held all those items in her hands. What the hell did she do with them? She couldn't just leave them behind and she certainly couldn't carry them along with her.

She had an idea. Looking down at the pile of items, she rapidly moved her hands and arms in a spread pattern that seemed nonsensical. And to most beings of the realms, such a gesture would've resulted in all the items dropping to the floor in a heap. But when Skarlet did it, there was bright white flash and the items disappeared.

 _Okay,_ she thought. _Let's make sure reverse works too._ She repeated the arm wave pattern and just as quickly as her items had vanished, they reappeared in her hands. Skarlet smiled and repeated the pattern a few times, making her unneeded items disappear and reappear with regular ease. She smiled at herself. She'd done it!

The average person would swear that Skarlet had made her item just disappear into thin air. And while that appeared to be true to outward appearances, in reality she'd created an interdimensional pocket to store her unnecessary items and weapons. Shao Kahn had shown her how to do this trick not long after he'd created her, but she'd never really used it up until now. It was a staple tactic of nearly every warrior of all realms and it was how they appeared to be generating weapons and other items from nothing.

Well, that now solved the problem of what to do with her unneeded items and weapons. Until she needed them again, they would safely sit in that little pocket she'd created between reality and whatever. And as she was the only one who could open the pocket and retrieve those items, she didn't have to worry about them being stolen.

Pleased with her success, she assessed her disguise one more time in the mirror. As long as she could fool a cursory glance, that was all she cared about. _Okay Skarlet,_ she told herself. _Here we go._

And she headed out the front door towards the palace.

With the ceremony finally over and the bagpipes returned to the palace music room, Brett found himself sitting at one of the palace bars downing a couple shots of that red firewater Tanya had given him that first night. It was definitely stronger than most stuff he was used to but at the moment, he didn't give a damn. He just needed something to dull the pain.

But even booze wasn't helping. Hell, nothing was helping the pain go away in his God forsaken life. Friends, wife, house, career and now Uncle Yama. They were all gone. Ripped out of his hands and creating gaping wounds that continued to fester, no matter what he did to stop them. He had nothing left now. Not even his Uncle Yama for advice and guidance. Nothing.

He downed another shot of the red stuff, whatever it was and buried his head in his hands. It seemed like he was living in a nightmare. A perpetual nightmare that had begun the day that he slammed the Silver Streak right into the bus with all those kids. Damn that drunken bus driver. Damn his ex-wife. Damn that witch hunter Natalie Graves. And damn the fucking conductor for being high at the time of the accident and bringing the cloud of suspicion down on him!

But most of all… damn that Shao Kahn and every last one who followed him. Damn them for robbing him of the last thing in this life that he had to hold on to. Damn them for taking the last thing he had in life and casually tossing it in the garbage. He wanted the nightmare to end. He wanted the pain to stop.

As he poured himself another shot of the red stuff, Jax walked up beside him. "You okay?" He asked Brett.

"Obviously not," Brett spat, his tone vitriolic. "Why in the hell do you care anyway?"

"You're a member of the Forces of Light now," he said. "It's our job to care about the fates of all realms and each other."

Brett snorted angrily. "Oh that's big of you. My brother-in-law and I were members of the 75th Rangers and you sure as hell didn't give a damn about him, did you? Or me?"

"That's in the past Brett," Jax lectured.

"For you maybe," Brett growled. "Maybe you're done with the past but that doesn't mean I'm done with the past or that past is done with you."

"Brett…" Jax started.

Brett cut him off. "Get the fuck out of my sight you asshole." He turned his back to Jax and resumed drinking.

Jax raised his hands in a sort of capitulatory gesture, indicating that he wasn't going to push the issue. "Fine," he muttered and wandered away.

Elsewhere, Kitana and Jade watched the exchange from a respectable distance. "I'm worried about him Kitana," Jade said. "Before Master Masamune's death, there was a spark of life inside him. I could see it. Yes, he was confused and full of questions and uncertainties. But there was life in him."

"Are you saying you don't see that anymore?" Kitana asked her friend.

Jade shook her head. "No. I don't. Whatever spark there was in him is gone now. Like he's already dead too but his body just doesn't know how to shut down."

Kitana breathed deeply. "I know what you mean Jade."

"You've seen it too, haven't you?"

Kitana nodded. "Yes, but I didn't know how to phrase it. And I fear you may have phrased it perfectly. What do you think we should do?"

Again Jade shook her head. "I don't know. After that display with Jax, I'm not sure he really wants to talk with anyone."

"Well we can't just stand around and do nothing," Kitana said. "I'm going to try talking to him."

"If it goes well, signal me and I'll join you," Jade replied.

Kitana nodded in agreement. With that she walked over to Brett and took a seat next to him as he poured himself one more shot. "How are you doing?"

"As well as could be expected," Brett answered. He glanced back behind him at Jade. "Tell Jade the ceremony was everything I hoped for and from the bottom of my heart, I thank her for that."

Kitana gestured to Jade. "Why don't you tell her yourself?"

He rolled his eyes. _Kind of set yourself up for that one, didn't you Brett,_ he told himself. Oh well, there wasn't anything he could do about it now. He glanced at Jade again as she appeared next to Kitana, her face lined with concern and worry. "Thank you for everything Jade. What you did to help with the ceremony was invaluable and it was everything I could've asked for."

She smiled as she passed the folded American flag she still had in her possession to him. "Thank you Brett. That means a lot to me."

He accepted the flag from her and an awkward silence followed as they all tried to think of what to say next. Brett really didn't want to say anything. He just wished the two of them would go away and leave him alone."

"Mother has commanded the cooks to prepare a grand feast tonight in master Masamune's honor," Kitana said somewhat hesitantly.

Brett shrugged. "That's fine. Who am I to stop her from what she wants in her own palace?"

"I assume you'll be joining us all for the feast?" Kitana asked.

"Can't promise that, but I'll make an effort," Brett said though his tone was hardly sincere.

"Why don't we go train in the meantime Brett?" Jade suggested pleasantly. "The activity would get our minds off of things and do us both some good."

"Thank you. No." Brett said. He downed his latest shot and slammed the glass down on the counter. "If it's all the same to the two of you, I'd rather be alone right now." He got out of his chair and looked at them with a stern expression. "And someplace where I don't have a bunch of people asking me if I'm okay when it should be obvious to even a certified dumbass that I am not okay." He nodded once to them both. "Ladies." And with that he marched off in search of someplace more private.

Kitana and Jade both raised their eyebrows in amazement. "That went well," Jade muttered with a degree of sarcasm.

"Not really," Kitana observed.

Skarlet was still amazed that her disguise had worked as well as it had. Not a single person in the crowd surrounding the grave site had questioned it. No Edenian troops had stopped her and no palace guards had challenged her. It was almost too easy. Good thing she wasn't here to assassinate anybody.

Still, the disguise she wore chafed and irritated her skin like crazy. The first thing she done the instant she'd managed to get inside the palace was search for a place to ditch the disguise. And it wasn't long before she found the perfect place… a storeroom that looked like it hadn't been used in a long while.

As she shed her disguise, Skarlet began to appreciate how much more comfortable and enjoyable the feeling of having most of her skin exposed was. Or that what little clothing she did wear was soft and gentle against her flesh. It was certainly better than the rough fabric she'd just removed from it.

With a wave of her hands, she retrieved her shoulder armor, forearm gauntlets and boots from the dimensional pocket she'd placed them in. She consciously decided though to leave her weapons and facial hood stored for the time being. She didn't want to appear threatening or hostile to Brett or anyone else for that matter. She was here to see Brett and get some answers to her questions, not start a fight.

With her armor pieces and boots back in place, she took a deep breath. _So far, so good Skarlet. Now to find him._

That could very well be easier said than done. She was in the middle of a huge palace and she had no idea where to even start looking. It seemed impossible to find him in such a place. But she couldn't give up now. She'd come so far… farther than she'd ever truly thought she would when she'd set off on her journey nearly a week earlier. Her goal was within her grasp. She had to see it through to the end. So where did she start?

Thanks to Shao Kahn's spy inside the palace, he possessed extensive floor plans of the structure. At his insistence she had studied them rather thoroughly, so Skarlet had a pretty good idea of the palace's layout from memory. Because of that, she ruled out the ground floor and most of the second floor. If he had his own private accommodations, they would be on at least the third floor of the palace.

The ground floor was where the public rooms, audience chambers, drawing rooms, dining rooms and such were located. The main throne room was on the second floor as were the Royal apartments used by Queen Sindel and Princess Kitana. As the highest ranking officer in Edenia's military, Jade also had an apartment in this area.

Skarlet rolled her eyes. She was on the ground floor and had to go up at least two floors, if not more. How the hell did she do that without attracting attention?

Well she sure wasn't going to figure that out by standing here in this storeroom. She opened the door a crack and peered as best she could into the hallway. She didn't see or hear anyone nearby and she quietly scooted from the storeroom. Pausing near a hallway intersection, she made a quick peek around the corner. Again, she didn't see or hear anyone so she moved on.

Five minutes of skulking around on the ground floor and she didn't feel like she was making much progress. _This is ridiculous,_ she thought to herself. _I've got to get to the upper floors somehow without being spotted._

She began looking around for anything she might be able to climb. Unfortunately, the walls and ceiling of the corridor were made of sheer marble. Not only would they difficult to climb, there was no place for her to go even if she did scale the walls. Skarlet sighed heavily. What were her other options?

What the hell was that racket? Random noise? No, it was a voice. An angry sounding voice was nearby. And it sounded familiar to her. Was it him? Curious to find out, Skarlet carefully moved around the next corner and peered out into the open as far as she dared.

It _was_ him! He had just started up a flight of stairs to the second floor. He sounded very upset and for some reason Skarlet didn't think it was just the recent death of his mentor that was upsetting him. No, there was something else bothering him. And as she heard his feet march with great purpose up the stairway, Skarlet was determined more than ever to get to him.

She retreated back into the corridor where she had been and tried opening the first door she saw. Skarlet hoped she'd find an answer as to how she was going to get upstairs from here without being seen. But this first door yielded no answers. It was a washroom. She tried another door and discovered it was locked. A third door revealed a comfortable, semi-private sitting room. And on the far wall Skarlet discovered something that might just prove to be the answer.

A fireplace.

From her studies of the Edenian palace layout, she knew that many of the rooms in the palace had fireplaces for heating and cooling via the use of magical spells. She also knew that it wasn't uncommon for four or five closely located chimneys to be connected to one another. This was especially true in that fireplaces were stacked on top of one another, just separated by different floors.

She crossed the empty room and looked up the chimney she'd discovered. It didn't appear that anyone above her had lit a fire or anything else. But what other choice did she have. This chimney was her only way to get to the upper floors without being spotted. But it was awfully cramped inside it. Fortunately, she had a solution for that too. As she'd done the day she'd escaped from Bexbran, she focused her concentration and her body slowly changed into a pool of blood.

Despite being in this state, she was still in full command of her faculties and it allowed her to "flow" up the inside of the chimney to the second floor. She paused briefly where the first floor chimney connected to the chimney extending upward from the second floor fireplace and listened. There was no sound nor any indication Brett had remained on the second floor, so she continued upward.

There was also no indication Brett had stopped at the third floor and shortly thereafter, Skarlet reached an exchange junction. Two chimney systems coming from further away in the palace united with the one she was in. Great, now which way did she go? She decided to continue straight up. This exchange junction would eventually lead back down to the second floor and possibly even the first and she knew Brett wasn't on either of those levels.

She continued up past the fourth floor and soon after, the fifth floor as well. Again she stopped. There was only one floor left and then she'd be outside on the roof. If she went there, she'd be spotted for sure by the guards who continuously patrolled the upper battlements. Maybe she should've taken one leg of that exchange junction below her?

Maybe. But she could tell there was another exchange junction up ahead of her just past the sixth floor, yet before she reached the chimney opening. Something deep within her was prompting her to get up to that second exchange junction, so she kept at it.

 _Left,_ a whispered echoed in the dark confines of the chimney when she'd reached it.

 _What the… who was that?_ Skarlet wondered. She stopped and surveyed her surroundings again. Who'd spoken to her?

 _Left,_ the voice spoke again.

There was no one around, as if Skarlet really expected anyone else to be crawling, or rather flowing, around this chimney system with her. She was alone in here. No one knew where she was. That could mean only one thing.

 _Elder Gods?_ She wondered.

 _Left Skarlet, go left,_ was all the voice said one more time before it faded and she could no longer hear it.

 _Okay, left it is,_ she thought.

The left branch of the chimney system stretched on for quite a distance before she came to an angle in the branch leading a short distance down. Rather than question where she was going, she took what amounted to a leap of faith and followed the branch down. And as she did, she could hear a voice not far away, though it was too muffled for her to make sense of it.

Reaching the end of the branch Skarlet found herself in a fireplace situated at the end of a short hallway. It had been placed there so the palace staff could use it in the winter months to keep the corridor warm. Skarlet sensed she was alone in the hall and she emerged from the chimney, reforming to her true self as she did. Taking stock of her current situation, she determined there were three doors on each side of the hall. Which one did she pick?

That was easy. From where she was she could hear someone talking further down the hall in the second room on the right. And from the sound of the voice, she knew it was Brett Hudson. Finally, she'd found him! And now she would get some answers to her questions. But as she approached, she could tell from the sound of his voice that he was not the least bit happy and was yelling about something. Who was he yelling at?

She slowly tried to open the door and the latch gave with a soft click. Gazing inside, she saw Brett standing several feet away with his back to her. He was facing a dresser with some kind of a hand carved symbolic statue on it. And he was yelling at it. Cursing at it.

What was going on?

With a bottle of whiskey in his hand that he'd discreetly pilfered after leaving Kitana and Jade alone, Brett arrived back in his room and slammed the door shut behind him. Whether it was by pure oversight or just not thinking about it however, he failed to lock the door behind him. It was an oversight that he would say in later years, had been extremely fortuitous.

At the moment however, that was the farthest thing from his mind as he sat roughly on the bed and took a pull of whiskey straight from the bottle. He belched quietly into his hand and put the bottle down on the floor. Brett then casually tossed the folded flag onto the bed, leaned forward, buried his face in his hands and began to cry softly. And as he did, he slowly slid off the bed to the floor, landing backside first.

No matter how he tried to fight it, he couldn't stop his weeping. Everything was gone now. Ever since the damned accident, nearly everything in his life had been ripped apart and thrown away. And what hadn't been torn up in the aftermath of the accident had been ripped away from him before it. Everything that was, except one thing. One little tiny fragment of his life that remained. A fragment that he'd clung to more than he realized until recently. Now that was gone too.

And with that realization, he also realized he'd hit the bottom. He couldn't fall any further. He couldn't lose any more. Nothing more could be taken from him. He'd lost it all.

 _Why damn it,_ he wondered. _What the hell did I do so wrong that's warranted this kind of punishment? Is this my fate? Do I have nothing else to look forward to? Is it my destiny to just suffer endless loss until my inevitable demise?_

He spent the next few minutes shaking almost uncontrollably as his sobbing failed to bring him any sort of comfort. After a bit, he dried his eyes and looked up. Immediately his gaze fell upon a small statue sitting upon the dresser about a foot tall and roughly half a foot wide. The centerpiece of the statue was an ornately decorated circle surrounding a nine-pointed star. Similar to the Star of David of Judaism, it was a religious artifact and the symbol of the Elder Gods.

His rage overcoming his anguish, Brett growled at the artifact, "You assholes." He snagged the whiskey bottle nearby and took another pull. Struggling to his feet, he yelled, "You worthless, damnable, self-righteous, fucking assholes!" He slowly made his way closer to the dresser, his eyes never leaving the statue and the sneer never leaving his face. "You call yourselves Elder Gods? You call yourselves compassionate? How dare you do this to me!"

Behind him, Skarlet poked her head in the door and watched him. He failed to see her.

"I'm not a perfect guy," he screamed. "I get that! No one is absolutely perfect. But damn you all, I've lived what I thought was a reasonably good and honest life!"

He snorted angrily and shook his head in frustration. "I basically grew up on a ranch, learning the cowboy's way of life! I tended to animals, did back breaking labor and occasionally learned something crazy like how to properly ride a bull! And I was taught good, honest values like honoring God, country, family, respecting my elders and God only knows what else!"

Skarlet winced as she listened to him but even so a faint smile creased her lips. As he talked about himself and his life, she started to learn more about the actual man from her dreams. It fascinated her and she was eager to learn everything she could about him and his life. What did they have in common? Had they both been affected by events beyond their control? How similar had their lives been when compared to each other?

The answer was about to shock Skarlet to her core.

"I've never stolen anything from anyone to my knowledge," Brett raged. "I never gave my ex any reason to doubt my fidelity! I never bore false witness to anyone or anything and I've never truly been jealous of anything my friends or family had that I personally did not!"

He started pacing back and forth and took a drink from the bottle. Once again, he failed to see Skarlet nearby eyeing him with curiosity. Still clutching the bottle, he turned and shook his fingers in the direction of the artifact. "I made an honest living driving passenger trains for twenty damn years! I had a wife! I had a family! I had friends! And I had a mentor! I've spent my lifetime busting my ass to build a good honest life for myself based on honorable values! I had just about everything a man my age could've wanted!"

He took another pull from the bottle. "And yet in the span of less than one damned year, you took it all away from me!" he screamed. "Why?! Why did you do it?! Why did you let it happen?! And don't give me that tired old bullshit about having a damned plan! Because nowhere in any truly compassionate deity's plan does it say…" He tapped his finger against his spread palm as if he was reciting something that had been written. "… 'Screw this poor, dumb sap over and over again until he's got nothing left except the clothes on his back'!"

Skarlet gasped softly in amazement. A wife? He'd mentioned something about an ex-wife during the ceremony. He'd been married once before? And what was a passenger train? Was that the metal behemoth she'd seen so often in her dreams? If so, the reason why it appeared in her dreams with such frightening regularity made some sense now. But was there more to it? She listened for more and did not have to strain herself to do so.

Brett let out a mocking gasp as if a grand revelation had just hit him between the eyes. He tapped himself on the head while taking a few steps closer to the artifact. "Oh, but wait a minute! Wait a minute! I know why you're doing this to me. It's because of the other life I lead, isn't it? ISN'T IT?!"

He nodded and had a swig. "Yeah that's definitely it. That's why you punish me." He snorted loudly in anger. "You sons of bitches. Yes… I'm a hunter. A hunter of men. I'm a sniper." He ran his finger over the bullets that hung around his neck. "That's what these hogs' teeth here represent. A Hunter of Gunmen! But I guess you've a got a problem with that huh?" He snorted and let out a mocking chuckle. "Well get your asses in line because you're not the only ones who have a damned problem with it! Thou shalt not kill, right? That's what the commandment says, right? Well I've broken that commandment more than a few times. I hunt vermin… two legged human vermin. Humans so vile and disgusting the so-called impartial news networks refuse to say anything about it because they don't want to believe that such piles of human trash actually exist!"

Another pull from the bottle. "I go where few others dare. I strike from the shadows and retreat before my enemies know where to find me. And my targets rarely hear the shot that kills them." He spread his arms wide. "I am a sniper and I am proud of it! My kind and I are the most powerful psychological weapons on the modern battlefield!"

An incalculable number of thoughts were racing through Skarlet's mind. Sniper? What was a sniper?

Brett lowered his arms and bowed his head. "But because I am a sniper, I am looked down upon. I am given little respect by my peers unless I save their asses. I am looked down upon because I strike from the shadows, the hiding places, the areas that look innocent and mundane yet conceal a single man with scoped rifle patiently waiting to make his one-in-million shot."

Skarlet was shocked as his description began to help her understand what a sniper was. What was so wrong with it? She was a hunter too, striking from shadows and concealment and she'd never been led to believe there was anything dishonorable about it. _Tell me more,_ she thought.

He obliged, though he didn't know it. "I am a warrior, yet I am a warrior that is considered to be among the most dishonorable and despicable warriors ever created because I and others like me choose to face the majority of our foes from hiding. Every supposedly civilized military thinks that, even that of my own country. We choose not to face them in the open like conventional fighters and soldiers do." He tapped his head again and pointed at the statue. "And don't you idiots think for one second that I haven't occasionally overheard that loser Kang's comments about how disgusting I am just because I am what I am."

He shrugged. "But you know what? I don't care. If they choose to think that way, I can't stop them. As my dad often said, 'You can fix silly, but you can't fix stupid!' And I won't even try to fix their stupid, simple minded thinking. When my country called, I did the honorable thing! I answered! I did my duty as a patriotic American! And I did my job! I didn't want to go to war six times over! None of us wanted to! But I did what I was told to do to the best of my abilities!"

He thought about taking another pull from the bottle, but ended up just looking at the neck in disgust. "A hundred and thirty seven… that's how many confirmed kills I have. Second only to Kurt Lyle, God rest his soul. I never enjoyed it! I never enjoyed dropping the hammer on somebody else's son or daughter! But I did what I had to do to protect my brothers in arms and fellow countrymen! I didn't care whether it was the Second Coming of Christ, Santa Claus, Saint Valentine or the damn Easter Bunny! If they were a threat, I dropped 'em! I FOLLOWED THE RULES!"

He recalled the creed that had been drilled into head when he'd gone through Ranger qualification. A creed he took with the utmost seriousness than and still today. "I never failed my comrades!" he shouted. "I always kept myself mentally alert, physically strong and morally straight! I always took on more than my share of the task at hand! I never surrendered and I never left a fallen comrade on the battlefield! I never broke the creed on the battlefield or in the cab!"

Skarlet was amazed. _He's just like me,_ she thought. She wanted to run to him and hold him tight, but she sensed he wasn't done with his rant and getting out whatever it was he had to get out. When he started talking again however, his words tugged at her heart because he was crying as he spoke them.

"And yet you make me feel as if I have," he sobbed. "Otherwise why did you take everything away? Why have I been labeled as a dishonorable person? I did everything the way I was taught. With honor and integrity, no matter how distasteful others may have found it. And yet you punished me anyway and you still continue to punish me! You started by taking away my best friend, Kevin. A man who was also my brother-in-law. And now my own baby sister hasn't spoken to me in more than five years because of a promise I made to her that I failed to keep."

He sniffed loudly and wiped his eyes. "Yeah, I knew there was a chance I might not be able to keep that promise. But I made it anyway because I didn't actually think it would come to pass. I never believed for a damn second that Kevin wouldn't come home safe and alive! So why? Why did you all let it happen? Why did you make a liar out of me in the eyes of my baby sister?!" He shrugged helplessly. "Maybe you all just get some kind of perverse pleasure out of seeing me suffer? Is that it?"

Skarlet was stunned by how his words were affecting her, even though he wasn't speaking directly to her. _I can't be affected by this. I'm Shao Kahn's finest enforcer and assassin,_ she tried to tell herself one last time. But then she felt her own tears start to run down her cheeks. _Oh, the hell you are,_ she lectured herself. _You're a woman. You're Skarlet. You may not be sure what exactly that means yet, but one thing is absolutely certain… you are not Shao Kahn's slave anymore, even if he did create you._

Still unaware of Skarlet's presence behind him, Brett went on. "But even taking my best friend and my baby sister away from me wasn't enough for you, was it?" He took a deep breath and dried his eyes somewhat. "No. I had to suffer even more." He took a further deep breath to calm himself some more. "You put me right smack dab in the middle of the worst possible catastrophe that any railroader could ever face. That bus and its cursed driver who was so damn drunk he probably didn't know which way was up at the time of the accident!"

He threw his arms up in exasperation. "Fifty-four people dead as a result, fifty-one of them innocent children who never had a chance. Fifty-one souls who never had an opportunity to mature and reach their full potential. It wasn't my fault damn you! I did everything I could to prevent it! I gave proper warning that I was coming and I even slammed on the brakes before impact when I realized he wasn't going to stop! But it wasn't enough! It never is because the universal truth is you cannot stop a train on a dime!"

He snorted in fury and shook his finger in the air. "But then there was my stupid ass conductor who came up hot on the mandatory piss test because he'd been smoking weed earlier in the day before we left Chicago. And the press jumped all over that! I never smoked weed in my life but that witch hunter, Natalie Graves, who cleverly disguises herself as a victim's advocate started preaching to the world that I was a drug addict! That despite not having any proof to back up her bullshit, the test was flawed or I'd paid somebody off, or some other wild notion to get anyone to believe her story. And the public bought her damned story!"

He tried to calm himself a bit, but failed. "I was labeled a murderer, a butcher, a baby-killer and all kinds of other vile dreck! Stuff I've never been in my life and never will be! She covered me in shit and the public bought her outrageous lies! Who the hell does she think she is, huh?! Who the hell is she to take a stand against me when she flat out admitted on her own show, that she's never ridden on an AMRoad train before?! Who the hell is she to speak when she knows less than nothing about the workings and realities of the railroad industry as tragic as they can sometimes be?!"

Skarlet's tears were flowing freely now. He sounded like he was in absolute agony and she wanted to reveal her presence to him. But at the same time she wanted to learn more. She wanted to learn everything she possibly could about him. Everything she could about this man who, for good or bad, had her utterly mesmerized.

Brett went on with his tirade. "But even that wasn't enough for you. You had to take even more. And you took it from me in my darkest hour. I never saw it coming because I was too damn busy trying to defend myself from that damned witch hunter and the court of public opinion. Annette became so used to the cameras and lights being in her face, that she was utterly seduced by fame. When I needed her most, when I needed her to stand by my side she turned her back on me! And she betrayed me by spreading even more vicious lies about how I was an abusive, violent and controlling husband! I never once struck her! I never once even threatened to strike her! I never even called her names like "bitch" and "whore" and other disgusting words! She was my wife and I respected her as such! But in the end, she didn't respect me and that damn witch hunter, Graves, jumped all over that too!"

He bowed his head, sniffed and tried hard to keep his sadness from overwhelming him again. "The official inquiry into the accident cleared me legally of any wrongdoing. Which it should have! But it didn't clear my name in the court of public opinion! That damned witch hunter still crusades against me, as evidenced by her repeated attacks on me the day after the official investigation was closed! But by then, it didn't matter! My divorce was already final! I lost my house! My so-called friends distanced themselves from me! My family distanced themselves from me! My career was basically ruined! My financial stability was gone because my ex got all the money! And to top it all off, that idiotic divorce judge gave just about everything that wasn't nailed to the floor to my goddamned lying ex!"

He took several breaths to calm himself again and looked back at the statue. "But despite all that, there was one thing I still had. My mentor. My Uncle Yama. The man who was practically a second father to me." He started pacing back and forth as his rage started to build again. "And I just finished delivering his eulogy! You've taken that from me now too! You damn worthless fuckers have taken everything from me!"

Skarlet jumped slightly as she witnessed Brett throw the liquor bottle at the statue. Because he was more than a little tipsy, it missed and shattered against the wall behind it. What remained of the brown liquid inside covered the wall and the floor nearby. _Oh Brett,_ she thought helplessly.

"HOW DARE YOU!" he screamed at the statue. "How dare you worthless assholes do this to me! How dare you allow that idiotic, self-righteous witch hunter continue her pointless and dishonest crusade against me! How dare you allow my backstabbing ex to spread such vile lies about me and then reward her with fame and fortune! How dare you allow my life to collapse around me when all I've ever done is spend it trying to do the right thing as my parents taught me! How dare you allow rule breakers like Jax, Johnny and Stryker to walk around unpunished for their actions! How dare you allow my brother-in-law to die senselessly and my baby sister to forever blame me for it! How dare you allow such a weak-willed, moronic dullard who's more concerned about his damned image than with leading the nation I love so much, be elected to its highest office! How dare you assholes allow all of this to happen and five billion other things that I don't have the knowledge or strength to yell about!"

He rested his hand on his forehead and spent a moment composing himself. Looking back at the statue, he growled, "You shamelessly took nearly everything I held dear away from me. And then you all shanghaied me to this place." He spread his arms a bit and looked around the room. "This… Edenia. And your errand boy, Mister Sparky, took it upon himself to preach five thousand platitudes in my face about me being this supposed great warrior who was going to join the so-called Forces of Light and save Edenia and Earth from this Shao Kraphead and his Outworld threat once and for all." He actually chuckled a little. "And I admit, I was willing to go along with it if only to escape the shit that's become my life back home." He angrily shook his finger at the statue. "But then… then you all committed the final atrocity."

He spun on one heel and walked back over to his bed, still failing to see Skarlet. For a moment he just stood there silently. But when he spoke again, his words were filled with great conviction. "You took the last thing I had from me. The last person that truly gave a damn about me. The last person that I truly gave a damn about. You took my mentor, my Uncle Yama, away from me. And if you fucking moronic bastards think I'm going to join your Forces of Light now, you've lost your damn minds."

He reached under the mattress and retrieved his Beretta 92, the same handgun he'd taken off one of the dead Black Dragon thugs at the Battle of Bexbran. The same Beretta he'd dished out at little bit of his own justice with at that battle. He worked the slide, turned back to the statue and pressed the muzzle under his chin.

His action surprised Skarlet. What was he doing?

"I have broken the creed, though I do not know how. And you refuse to tell me. Instead you endlessly punish me. Well I've had enough. I may not have surrendered before… but I surrender now. Fuck you. Fuck Raiden. Fuck your damned Mortal Kombat tournaments. Fuck your Forces of Light. Fuck Edenia. Fuck Earth. And fuck everything. If Shao Kahn wants these realms so damn badly, let him have them! I don't know about Edenia but there's a _shitload_ of worthless garbage on Earth that needs to be disposed of. Let him take care of it."

With mounting horror, Skarlet realized what he was about to do. No! She couldn't let him do that! In her heart and soul she knew they and their destinies were strongly tied to one another. Whatever one of them did, it affected the other intentional or not! If he ended it, she was as good as dead herself!

He exhaled one final time, closed his eyes and slowly started to press the trigger.

 _STOP HIM!_

Skarlet didn't know who's voice commanded her to move, but it didn't matter. By the time it did, she was already halfway across the room in a desperate attempt to stop a horrible travesty. Launching herself at him, she screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" at the top of her lungs.

Hearing her scream, Brett opened his eyes and glanced. Seeing her throwing herself at him completely dumbfounded him. _What the? Her? What is she doing here?_

She body checked him, causing him to fall over backwards to the bed. In the same motion, she struck out with her right hand, slapping the gun and pushing it to the side.

Half an instant later, the loudest crack either of them had ever heard, echoed throughout the room.


	7. One of a Thousand: Chapter 7

**One or a Thousand, Chapter 7**

 _Realm of Edenia, The Royal Palace_

 _Brett Hudson's Room_

 _Strange,_ Brett thought. _I would've expected death to be something… more. Bright lights, blue skies, streets of gold, heavenly angels._ He chuckled slightly. _Or least fire, brimstone and demons if I truly was a piece of shit in life._

 _But I don't see any of that in front of me. All I see is… blackness. Nothingness. Emptiness._ He began to feel dizzy and he started getting depressed. _Is this all I've earned in the end? Is this all there is? An empty black void that I endlessly tumble around in for eternity?_

 _You even had to take away an eternity of peace from me didn't you?_ He felt like cursing the Elder Gods some more but gave up. All his anger was burnt out and what would yelling at them some more accomplish now? What was done was done. _You couldn't even let me have an eternal rest could you? Even at the end, you had to punish me. So be it then. If this is my fate, I accept it._

 _Wake up Brett, please. Stay with me._

A voice? Who was talking to him? A spirit? An angel? A demon? He strained to see the source of the voice, but all he could see before him was utter blackness. _Who are you? Who's there?_

He shivered. He was starting to get cold. _Great,_ he thought. _Not only do I get to tumble around in this eternal void, but I get to be freezing cold while I do it._ He snorted in frustration to himself. _Guess the Elder Gods are determined to make even my afterlife as miserable as possible. What did I do? What did I do to deserve this?_

 _Don't go Brett. Please don't go. I need you. I don't know why, but I need you._

That voice again. It was female, no question about it. What did it want? Did it want to torture him some more? Was she trying to lure him in with her Siren's Song only to unleash unspeakable terror on him? Or maybe it just wanted to enslave him? With what the Elder Gods had put him through over the course of the last few years, who the hell knew?

He felt pain in his lower legs. _Strange,_ he thought. _I didn't feel anything when I blew my brains out. No white hot pain, no shock of my life ending… nothing. So why am I suddenly feeling pain now?_ _It doesn't make sense._

That wasn't the only thing he felt. He felt like he was leaning against something. Something warm and soft. Almost comforting. _Maybe there is something here in the afterlife for me,_ he thought. Whatever it was, he wanted to reach out and touch it. He wanted to put his arms around it and hold it as close to him as he could for as long as he could. If this was all he was ever going to get, then he was determined to never lose this warmth and softness he felt. But his arms felt so heavy, he couldn't grab on to anything.

 _Oh Brett, please open your eyes for me._

The endless black void in front of him began to dissipate and was slowly being replaced by a soft white color. And as it got brighter, he began to notice brilliant shapes of red within the lightness as well. And, and now he started seeing a shade of… light peach? He was more confused now than ever. What was it? What was happening to him? What were all these odd colors?

He felt something smooth touch the side of his face. _Please stay with me._ The female voice spoke to him again.

Wait a second. If he could feel something on his face like that then… was he still alive?! He hadn't blown his own brains out after all? Had he just been knocked senseless somehow?

His eyes fluttered and finally opened all the way. Still not quite believing he was still alive, he began to take stock of his situation and what had happened. He was lying on the floor next to the bed, his feet pointed in the direction of the statue he'd been raging at immediately before retrieving the gun. Where was it?

Ah, there it was. It had landed on the floor more than a dozen feet away. Smoke curled from the barrel of the pistol. It appeared that he had indeed fired it. But the bullet seemed to have lodged in the lowest drawer of the dresser across from where he lay.

He looked up and saw the sight that shocked him most. The face of the most stunningly beautiful woman with the reddest hair he'd ever seen and gray eyes. A further examination revealed she was sitting on the floor with him and was holding him ever so gently in her lap. The warmth he'd been feeling was her skin against him. She was cradling his head tenderly in her hands and holding it protectively against her breasts which turned out to be the softness he'd been feeling.

When he looked up at her, she presented him with a smile that could only be described as elated. A single tear fell from her eye and landed on his face. Touching his lips, she managed to tell him, "I was afraid you were never going to wake up."

In that moment, it all came flooding back to Brett. And with absolute clarity, he recalled what had happened in the seconds before the shot. He'd been slowly pressing the pistol's trigger when he'd heard a scream. He'd turned to look and he'd seen Skarlet throwing herself at him. And she'd knocked the gun out of his hand sending it clattering to the floor. Doing so had resulted in an accidental discharge of the weapon and the bullet had burrowed into the dresser.

At the same time, Skarlet had slammed her body into his. The force of the hit had knocked him backwards and he'd hit his head on the bedpost. He must've passed out when he'd smacked it which would explain his current situation of lying dazed on the floor and Skarlet trying to wake him up.

Without really knowing what else to say, Brett uttered an astonished, "Skarlet?!"

She nodded. "It's me Brett. I'm here."

His reaction surprised her a bit. Instead of being grateful, he seemed even more upset than he had been. "Damn it Skarlet, why?" he cried. "Why did you save me? Why couldn't you just let me fix everything with my God-forsaken life?"

"And let you end your own life as if it were a complete waste?" Skarlet asked him pleasantly. "No. I could never do that Brett," she insisted. "Not now, not ever. You mean far too much to me for me to allow you to kill yourself."

Brett was flabbergasted. "Mean too much to you? How is that possible? You don't even know me! I've only met you one other time and then we were fighting each other as enemies! You serve Shao Kahn! How in God's name could you give a damn about me?"

"I know we didn't get off to a great start Brett," Skarlet admitted. "But you don't understand."

"Then make me understand dammit!"

Skarlet was a little reluctant to tell him about her dreams and visions. But then, given what she'd just stopped him from doing, he deserved some answers. "I know you better than you think," she confessed. "You're the man in my dreams and visions."

A look of confusion swept over Brett's face. "What? Dreams and visions? What are you talking about?"

Before Skarlet could answer, Queen Sindel, alerted by the noise and commotion suddenly entered. "What's going on in here? I heard a loud noise and…" Her gaze fell upon Skarlet and Brett lying on the floor in her lap. Putting two and two together, she immediately got a total of five and screamed, "SKARLET!" Turning back into the hall, she yelled for the guards. As she returned her focus to the scene, Sindel waved her arms and a Kwan Dao formed in them. A glaive style weapon with a heavy axe-like blade on one end and a spike on the other, it was Sindel's preferred weapon. "UNHAND HIM IMMEDIATELY AND DEFEND YOURSELF!"

Hearing Sindel's call and having been alerted by the earlier commotion as well, Jade and Kitana suddenly entered the room. "You!" Jade yelled as she settled into a fighting stance.

Kitana drew her war fans. "Foul creature!" she hissed. "Have we not suffered enough tragedy today? We bury one of our own and now you assault us?!" Like Jade and her mother, she assumed a ready posture. "Cease your attack and arm yourself, blood warrior!"

Though Skarlet had heard their demands, she had also ignored them. Instead she focused her intensely concerned gaze down at Brett who was still eyeing her with tremendous confusion, amazement and perhaps even a bit of gratitude. Of all the people he ever could've imagined stopping him from doing what he'd just tried to do, Skarlet was perhaps one of the last he would've expected.

And yet, she had.

Still looking down at him, Skarlet touched his face and a few more of her tears fell on him. She didn't want to fight Sindel or the others. She wanted there to be peace between them. And the sight of her tear stained cheeks as she looked at them caught the other three women by surprise. "Please," she begged in a choked voice. "Help him." She looked down at Brett and held him against her body even tighter. "Help him."

"I said arm yourself!" Kitana screamed.

"Would all of you just relax please!?" Brett yelled out. "She's not attacking me!"

Having had a chance to study the scene more thoroughly, Sindel had a feeling they were reading the situation incorrectly. As such, and as a gesture of peace to Skarlet, she made her weapon disappear. With that she approached the pair and knelt down next to them.

"Your Majesty!" Jade exclaimed.

"Mother, what are you doing?!"

Sindel turned back to them and with gesture, indicated that they should just give her a minute. She then turned back to the very distressed Skarlet and still somewhat dazed Brett. She placed a friendly, reassuring hand on the blood warrior's shoulder and quietly asked, "Skarlet… child… what happened here? Why are you so upset?"

Skarlet looked into the eyes of the Queen and saw nothing but a woman who was deeply concerned about her and wanted only to know what she could do the help. It was the exact opposite of what that damned Shao Kahn had always said she was like. "I… I had to stop him," she said weakly. She looked down at him again and gently touched his face. "I couldn't let him do it. There's been enough torment and suffering here. I had to prevent another terrible occurrence from happening."

"Prevent what?" Sindel asked.

Skarlet didn't answer, but just turned her head and looked at the pistol that still lay on the floor. She then pointed to the spot in the dresser where the bullet that had been discharged from it had embedded itself.

Sindel followed Skarlet's gaze and immediately pieced together the truth of what had nearly happened. She gasped aloud. "Skarlet, are you saying he tried to… kill himself?"

Skarlet nodded. "I couldn't let him do that."

Jade refused to believe it. "Lies!" she shouted.

"No," Brett yelled back. "Skarlet's not lying to you. Had she not stopped me, you three would be looking upon my dead corpse right this minute."

Kitana and Jade were both shaken by the revelation. "What?" Kitana exclaimed. Her war fans disappeared and both she and Jade rushed to Brett's side. Kitana held his hand tightly and looked at him with a mixture of dread and sadness. "Why?"

It was a question that Jade too, wanted an answer to. And as she massaged his shoulders, she echoed Kitana's inquiry. "Why Brett? Why would you try to do something so dreadful?"

A tear formed in Brett's eye and slowly fell down the side of his face. "I wanted the pain to stop," Brett moaned. He covered his face with his hands and began sobbing all over again. "I just wanted the damn pain to stop!"

Skarlet clutched him tighter against her body and instinctively rocked back and forth in an effort to soothe him. She didn't know what else to do. "It's okay Brett," she whispered to him. "It's okay."

Sindel shook her head. _Oh Elder Gods,_ she thought. _How could you nearly let this happen?_

Jade echoed Skarlet's sentiment. "Whatever aches you so badly Brett, it can't possibly be worth doing something so foolish?"

 _Listen to her well Brett,_ he heard a voice tell him. _You have not broken your creed. And we are terribly sorry for the torment you have gone through. Please… stay your current course. Continue to fight the good fight. You will be rewarded. And those who have wronged you in the past will face the justice you desire._

He didn't believe it. At least not at this moment. But perhaps his plan to bring his suffering to an end had been a little… rash and not all that well thought out. Hell, he'd often said himself that those who chose to die by their own hands were taking to coward's way out. Maybe he'd better listen to his own advice.

At that moment, others started to arrive, summoned by the commotion and noise. "Is there a problem in here?" Cyrax wondered as he entered the room.

"What's going on?" Sareena asked from the hallway.

"Everything okay in there?" Sub Zero inquired.

"How can anything exciting be going on in a bedroom and I not be involved?" Johnny Cage asked smugly.

For his trouble, Ashrah elbowed him in the stomach, causing him to double over. "Shut up you moron," she hissed. "Something serious is going on in there."

Back in the bedroom, Sindel saw the cluster of people gathering. Turning back to the others, she said, "I'll deal with this. You get him out of here and somewhere where he can rest. And get him some water. He looks exhausted." She looked at Skarlet, still unsure of whether or not she could be totally trusted. At the moment though, that seemed to be the only thing he was clinging to. "Stay with him Skarlet, please," she asked.

Skarlet didn't need to be asked twice. She nodded. "It is my destiny," she said.

"Mother…" Kitana started to protest.

"Kitana please," Sindel urged. "Skarlet here obviously has a very deep connection to him that none of us quite understand as of yet. I think that if we were to disrupt that it would not only be foolish, but perhaps even dangerous."

"Very well mother," Kitana relented.

Sindel got to her feet and quickly scooped up the pistol from the floor. Crossing back towards the door, she handed it to Cyrax. "Takes this," she demanded. "Get it out of here and put it someplace safe."

Cyrax nodded and accepted the weapon from the Queen. "Of course, Your Majesty."

"Is everything okay in here?" Sub Zero wondered.

Sindel shook her head. "No. He tried to kill himself moments ago. Only the timely intervention of Skarlet prevented him from succeeding."

Both men were floored. "Skarlet?" Sub Zero exclaimed. "Shao Kahn's chief assassin?"

Sindel nodded. "As crazy as it sounds, yes. That Skarlet."

"You sure she didn't try to murder him?" Cyrax put the question to her.

Sindel shook her head. "No, she didn't. She is very upset that he tried to do it and he flat admitted that were it not for her intervention, he'd be dead now." Sindel turned and glanced behind her as Skarlet and the others helped Brett to his feet. "I don't know exactly what's going on here, but you can bet I'm going to find out." She turned back to Sub Zero and Cyrax. "They're taking him someplace else where he can rest. Go with them. Keep an eye on Skarlet, but be respectful. If I'm right about this, she won't try anything, but we can't be too careful."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Cyrax and Sub Zero said in unison.

 _The Royal Lounge_

The news about Brett Hudson's attempted suicide spread through the palace faster than greased lightning. As a result, every member of the Forces of Light were now clustered around him wondering what had driven him to attempt such a senseless act. There had been dozens of questions from them, none of which Brett had intended to answer. But for his own sanity, maybe it was time he started talking about what happened, lest it consume him again.

Still he wasn't ready to start right this second. He need a few minutes to collect himself and come to terms with what he'd tried to do. Skarlet, Jade and Kitana had taken him to the Royal Lounge to rest, but so far with the endless parade of people in his face wondering if he was all right, he'd done nearly everything but rest. Even Tanya, the Edenian ambassador whom he'd spoken with his first night on Edenia, had rushed to him when she'd heard the news. And Li Mei was nearly tripping over him in an effort to be sure he was all right. Truth be told, he just wanted them to go away. All of them.

All of them except Skarlet. What she'd done had him completely baffled. Why the hell was he so important to her? Last time he'd seen her, they'd nearly battled each other to the death. What changed between now and then? What dreams and visions was she talking about? He didn't know at the moment but he was determined to get answers, and soon.

Even now, as he lounged in a chaise drinking his fourth glass of water in as many minutes, he stared at her intently, desperately trying to somehow discover the reason. She sat on the lounge with him, having never left his side since she'd been holding him on that cold floor. She'd barely stopped looking at him either, but who knew what was going through her head.

"Do you want more?" she asked as he finished his drink.

He shook his head and set the glass aside. "No. Any more and I'll be peeing my brains out."

She gave him a blank look.

Brett rolled his eyes. "That was a joke Skarlet," he said.

"A joke?" she replied. Then it dawned on her. "A joke. Yes of course. A joke. Ha ha ha."

"Oh come on Skarlet," he said. "I admit it wasn't a gut buster, but it couldn't have been _that_ lame?"

The expression on her face suggested she was trying to figure out what was the right response to his question. "I… I really don't know Brett. I just didn't understand it."

Her statement caught Brett by surprise. Didn't understand a simple joke like that? Hmm. It didn't seem like Shao Kahn had much of a sense of humor, nor did he bother to display one in front of his gofers. Wow, life under him seemed to be even less appealing than he first thought. And that was depressing enough.

"It's all right," he told her. "I guess after slaving for someone like Kahn for as long as you have been, simple pleasures like humor must come as something strange and unusual to you."

Skarlet was a little upset that she hadn't understood Brett's joke as he'd called it. She wanted to understand it and therefore, understand more about him. But she'd only recently embarked on this new path that the Elder Gods themselves seemed to have laid out for her. A lot of things she was now being exposed to were very different from the life she'd known back on Outworld. Therefore, a period of relearning was to be expected as she adjusted to this new reality… whatever it was.

"I haven't served him as long as you may think I have," she said.

Brett was about to ask her what she meant by that but before he could, Jade walked up to him. She was pissed, relieved and sad all at once. Pissed that Brett would've even attempted to do something so horrifying like take his own life, relieved that he had failed and sad because she felt like it was partly her fault. She'd sworn to watch over him at Masamune's funeral just a short while ago and she felt like she'd already failed in that respect.

She sat next to him on the lounge and looked at him, not sure if she wanted to smack him, hold him or cry on his shoulder. In the end, she did none of them and merely asked a question. "Why Brett? Why did you try it? What pain did you want to stop?"

He took a deep breath and leaned forward, staring at the floor in distress. A part of him still didn't want to talk about it. Didn't want to relive the moments of that horrible day. Didn't want to be judged as dishonorable in the eyes of all these people. People that he was just starting to view as friends and comrades in arms. People that he was starting to respect. Why would he risk losing all that to tell his story?

He looked up again and saw that all eyes were on him. Every member of the Forces of Light was gathered, wondering if he'd speak about what was bothering him so badly. Most of them appeared to be genuinely concerned for him, especially Skarlet. A few of them though… he wasn't so sure.

He felt a hand on his back and realized it was Skarlet's. She leaned in closer and whispered, "Brett, I have no idea what's at the heart of what bothers you. But if what I heard you ranting about in your room today is any indication, it's eating you up. Don't hold it in." She gestured towards everyone else. "Shut them out if you must, but please don't shut me out." She lowered her head and sighed. "I know that's a lot to ask considering how our last meeting went. But I still ask you… don't shut me out."

Her words amazed him. "How much of that rant did you hear?"

"More than enough," she replied. "Does it really matter how much that truly is?"

Why? Why did she care about him like this? Oh damn it, she was right. If he didn't talk about it, it would just continue to eat away at him. He couldn't continue to live like this. And if these people saw fit to judge him the way his own countrymen had, so be it. If that came to, he'd just wander away. Wander out of the palace in search of some quiet little place of nowhere that he could live out the rest of his days in solitude.

He took another deep breath and sat back again. "Eleven months ago, I had just about everything a man of my age could want to have." He glanced at everyone again. "As most, if not all of you already know, professionally I was railroad engineer for AMRoad. Yes, I was an Army sniper as well. Most of you know that too. But as I spent more time in the cab of a locomotive than on the battlefield, I consider my primary occupation to be that of railroad engineer. Always have and always will.

"As most of you know, I worked for AMRoad for twenty-four years," he went on. "Twenty-four years of hauling passengers from one place to another over the rails. I worked on a variety of different trains over the years. The Capitol Limited, the Texas Eagle and the California Zephyr to name a few. And I always enjoyed driving whatever train I was assigned to. But they all paled in comparison to the Silver Streak. After eighteen years of working for AMRoad, I finally got that assignment. And it was one of the happiest days of my life."

He glanced over at Skarlet who was smiling at him. He still no idea what her motivation was, but he smiled at her anyway. At least she seemed to truly give a damn about him.

"The Silver Streak is one of the most prestigious assignments on AMRoad," Brett continued. "That's because forty years ago, it was featured in a very well-known and highly acclaimed motion picture film." He chuckled slightly. "My father was one of the technical advisors on that movie and to this day, the locomotives and coaches that were used in the movie along with several others of that vintage are still used in daily service. And while AMRoad routinely rotates equipment over the majority of its system, that specific train set is permanently assigned to the Silver Streak."

He exhaled deeply before going on. "But even though I loved my job, that wasn't everything. I had a wife too." He paused for a moment to look around and as he expected, nearly everyone had a surprised look on their face. Only Skarlet didn't appear to be shocked by the revelation and he supposed that was because she'd heard him refer to her at some point during his earlier rant. "That surprised a few of you didn't it," he said with a laugh.

"That you had a wife? I think shocked would be the more appropriate term," Liu Kang said flatly. He did not believe for one second that anyone would ever willingly choose to marry someone who, in his mind, was so dishonorable.

The veiled attack in Liu's comment didn't go unnoticed by Brett. "What's so shocking about it there champ? Like I said, I was railroad engineer. Why wouldn't I have a wife?" A looking of false surprise came over Brett's face. "Oh but wait a second. You think that I'm dishonorable because I was also a sniper once. And the fact that I did that and had a spouse as opposed to sitting around moralizing and bowing my head a hundred times a day just eats you up doesn't it?"

He glanced at a few of the others, and could tell that he wasn't the only one who had caught the hidden venom in Liu's statement. Cyrax, Nightwolf, Kai, Li Mei, Kitana, Jade and especially Skarlet all stared at him with the same expression… 'that was callous and uncalled for.' He chuckled again. "Well let me tell you what I think of your opinion Liu… fuck off."

Liu was outraged. "Why you…" He started moving towards him. At the same instant, Skarlet started rising from her seat. If anyone was going to attack Brett, they would have to go through her first.

It never came to pass. An instant later, Kung Lao got in between them and put his palm against Liu's chest. "Liu…" he warned. "Don't. Just don't." Liu looked at his cousin in anger and for a few seconds, it looked like he might just toss Kung Lao aside to get at Brett. Kung then leaned in closer and muttered, "Even I know what the true nature of that comment was that you made and it was wrong. Now just back off before there are more unnecessary casualties."

Without a word, Liu calmly backed away but continued to eye Brett with hostility, a favor that was returned by both him and Skarlet.

 _Elder Gods,_ Brett thought. _If it is truly your plan that I receive justice, let me dish a little bit out to this clown as well_. "Anyway," he said. "Her name was Annette and I was married to her for thirteen years. Never had any children with her though. Even so, I had the rest of my family… my brothers, my sisters, my parents. I had a good group of friends. I had a very nice house in Naperville, Illinois which is a semi-affluent town west of Chicago. And I had a good amount of savings in the bank."

"How were you able to afford a nice house on a railroader's salary?" Sonya wondered.

"You'd be surprised what my take home pay was," he replied. "Starting salary for an AMRoad locomotive engineer is sixty-five thousand dollars and as I've said, I was with them for twenty-four years. Let's just say my take home pay shortly before everything fell apart was well into the six digit range."

Sonya was surprised. "I'm in the wrong business," she muttered.

He ignored the comment. "But then everything did fall apart. Rather quickly."

"The accident you mentioned the first morning you were here?" Kitana guessed.

"Mm hm," Brett nodded.

Skarlet could tell that just the mention of the accident was very upsetting to him. She placed a hand on his and squeezed it affectionately. He looked at her and smiled, fondly remembering for the first time since their first meeting just how amazingly beautiful he thought she was. And the expression on her face seemed to say, 'It's okay. If you can't feel like you can tell them, then just look at me and tell me what happened.'

So he did. Facing her, he began telling what happened that terrible day.

"The day of the accident was unremarkable to start with," he said. "I said goodbye to my wife, left my home, rode the commuter train into the city and within an hour, I was driving the Silver Streak from Chicago to Kansas City as I'd done for many years before that. And that day's train was the actual movie train. Engine number 4070 was leading, the second engine was number 4450 and engine number 4067 was trailing. Behind those locomotives were seventeen passenger cars full of people heading to a variety of places.

He glanced around again and he could see that he had everyone's attention. "For the most part, the top speed of any AMRoad train is eighty-five miles an hour," he said. "There are a few exceptions to that like the Northeast Corridor where trains routinely run at a hundred and twenty or more… and the Silver Streak. At several locations along the route, it is authorized to go a hundred and five miles an hour with dispatcher's approval."

"Due to some extensive track work in central Illinois, we started running late," Brett went on. He had no idea if his story was making any sense to Skarlet or anyone else for that matter. But now that he'd started he didn't want to stop. He had to get the story out. "And by the time we crossed the Mississippi River and made our station stop in Fort Madison, Iowa we were about twenty minutes behind schedule. So as we sat there waiting to go, I called dispatch and requested to run all out so we could make up the time. I was told that once we were clear of the Des Moines River, permission to accelerate to a hundred and five was granted."

He smiled at Skarlet and the others. "I know I'm using a lot of terms and referring to a lot of places most of you probably know nothing about." He looked back at Skarlet. "And for that I apologize because my story may not make sense as a result."

For a response, Skarlet gently squeezed his hand again.

Jade reached out and massaged his shoulder. "That's okay Brett," she replied.

Kitana stepped forward and sat on the only available corner of the chaise. "Of course it is," she agreed. "Please, go on."

He sat back and thought for a moment. "I don't think fifteen minutes had gone by since we'd cleared the Des Moines River, and we were running along a section of double track. Straight as can be and as clear and sunny as it could be. Even so, when I approached the railroad crossing at Hawthorne Road, disaster struck." He then explained a technical detail to them. "Now just so you can get an idea, traveling at a hundred and five miles an hour is the equivalent of traveling a hundred and fifty four feet per second."

Jade whistled in amazement. "That's fast."

"Very," Brett agreed. "And for those of you here who have ever been stuck at a railroad crossing when a train is approaching, you've no doubt heard the train whistle a warning as it approaches."

There were several nods all around.

Brett nodded once. "Okay then, there's a code to that which has been in place for decades. Long before the advent of radio and cell phones and all that stuff. Two long blasts on the horn followed by one short blast and then followed by one final long blast. That's the grade crossing approach warning. According to the General Operating Rule Book that governs basic railroad operations all across the United States and Canada, an engineer must begin sounding that approach warning when the train is no closer than fifteen seconds away from the grade crossing and no more than thirty seconds away. And he must hold that final long blast up until the lead locomotive had crossed the road."

Again, there were several nods indicating that at least he hadn't confused anybody.

"At a hundred and five miles an hour, I have to start sounding that warning when I'm half a mile away," he said. "That gives me seventeen seconds to sound it. I usually start at around twenty seconds when I'm going that speed. And that's just what I did the day of the accident. Even though I could barely see the crossing ahead when I started blowing the warning, I didn't expect it to be anything other than routine. But routine is always what's expected before a calamity happens."

He sighed heavily. "Even at the speed we were traveling, I could tell the gates were down and the warning flashers were illuminated. At that point I was probably about a quarter mile away and just wrapping up my second long blast. That's when I saw him coming. A school bus full of kids on my left. It wasn't stopping and in fact had swerved into the oncoming traffic lane in an effort to beat me to the crossing."

"By the Gods," Kitana gasped.

"Even as I started the final horn blast, I knew what was coming," Brett said. "When you work for the railroad for that long a time, you instinctively know when someone who is racing you is going to just barely get away with it and when they don't have a prayer. This guy fell into the latter category." A deep exhalation. "I even started shouting at the driver to stop, even though I knew he couldn't hear me. And just as he smashed into the lowered gate, I dynamited the train, stopped blowing the crossing warning and started blowing the track obstruction alert. That's nothing more than a rapid series of short blasts that continue until the obstruction either gets out of the way…" he looked back at Skarlet. "… or you slam into it."

Cyrax looked at Brett quizzically. "Forgive my interruption but… dynamited the train?"

Brett explained. "A railroad slang term that means slamming on the emergency brakes."

Cyrax and a few others nodded in understanding and Brett went on with his story. "He started across the tracks at an angle coming towards me, then he quickly jerked back the other way in an effort to straighten out and accelerate across. An instant later, I hit him at a hundred and one miles an hour."

"Oh Gods," Kung Lao said.

Brett focused on Skarlet again. "I remember looking down in the instant before impact and I saw a young girl right in front of me. She couldn't have been more than fourteen years old and she was screaming her head off. She knew she was about to die and she was terrified. I willed her to somehow survive and yet I knew she wouldn't. There was nothing I could do. That feeling of helplessness, that image is forever burned into my mind and whenever I think about it, it makes me sick."

Skarlet couldn't help herself anymore. Before either of them knew what was happening, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close in a tight embrace. To say that her actions surprised some of the others was a gross understatement. This was Shao Kahn's finest assassin. His blood warrior. And she was embracing him with tenderness and affection they never would've believed was possible for anyone within Shao Kahn's ranks, let alone his finest assassin.

And yet, the proof was all right before them, for her embrace of Brett was genuine. While perhaps no one was more stunned by her actions than Brett himself, it sure felt good to have her arms around him. For a brief moment, all of the rage and anguish of his past seemed to disappear. As she cradled his head in her hand, he gently rubbed his hand along her back, silently thanking her for giving him one brief moment of peace and harmony. For allowing him to feel that someone else truly did care about him. The feel of his rough skin against her soft flesh made her smile, though he never saw it.

The gentle hold finally broke. Looking in her eyes, Brett continued his story. "When I hit that bus, it exploded outward. Debris and bodies flew in every direction you can imagine. Some landed beside the tracks and some landed in the tracks. One was even launched upward and landed right on the nose of the engine. It stayed there for a second or two before it slid forward off the locomotive and onto the track. Of course I ran it over an instant later. At the speed I was moving, even with the brakes applied, the train traveled a lot farther than the bodies flew. So all of the bodies that landed in the track I ran over, not just that one. Crushed and chopped them up instantly.

"What was left of the bus after initial impact, which was little more than the chassis, was wrapped around the nose of the engine and dragged down the tracks until the train stopped. The front end of the bus was completely torn off and sent flying into two other cars on the right side of the crossing, killing five additional people including three more kids. There was a ton of superficial and cosmetic damage to the lead locomotive including the front windows being blown out by flying debris."

For a second he looked like he was about to be overcome by emotion all over again. But he managed to fight it back and continue the tale. "By the time the train finally stopped, it had traveled more than a mile past the crossing where I actually hit the bus. In all honesty, I don't know if I was knocked out or if my mind just blocked this part of memory off. But I don't remember the train actually coming to a stop nor do I remember what happened immediately after that. I don't remember if I got out of my chair or if I was thrown from it. And I sure as hell don't know how I got down from the engine.

"The next thing that I do remember clearly is sitting by the side of the tracks some distance away while a paramedic treated my injuries. I had cuts on my hands, a slight gash on the side of my head and somehow I'd managed to sprain my shoulder. I looked down at the train and I could see what was left of the bus still plastered to the nose of the engine. I looked back at the crossing and there were bodies, parts of bodies and debris everywhere. Fifty-four people were killed, fifty-one of them seventeen years old or less. When I realized the magnitude of what had happened, I started crying. And in a lot of ways, I have yet to stop."

He paused for a moment and looked at everyone, surprised to see that there were so many sets of misty eyes among them. Skarlet's tears ran down her cheeks as did Jade's own tears. Kitana looked like she was about to break down in sobs and even Queen Sindel herself sniffed and wiped her eyes. Cyrax's look grew somber, Nightwolf traced an Apache religious symbol in the air and Bo'Rai Cho clasped his hands together and bowed in solemn prayer.

Brett was genuinely moved by their solemnity. But he wondered how long it would last when he told the other half of the story. "Per standard procedure, my conductor and I each had to submit to an immediate toxicology test to make sure I was not under the influence of any alcohol or other mind altering substances. As I expected, mine was clean. My conductor's on the other hand, was not. It was later revealed that he had smoked copious amounts of marijuana just a few hours before we left Chicago."

"Oh boy," Sonya responded to the statement. "Not good."

"You got it," Brett said. "Where I come from there is a television personality named Natalie Graves. She's a former attorney who over the last several years has made a name for herself as a quote victim's advocate unquote. Her mantra is that she speaks for the unsung victims of crime and injustice and pursues it for those who can no longer speak for themselves. To be fair, I have no doubt that she still views herself as exactly that, an advocate against injustice. And at one time she probably was. These days though…" he shook his head. "No way. No, she's more interested in her own version of justice which means getting the general public to buy the story she tells, whether it's true, sort of true or outright false."

Johnny Cage couldn't resist the comment. "Says you Brett. I think she's spot on about everything, especially you."

Brett wasn't about to let a challenge like that go unanswered. "Rembrandt, if I want your opinion about anything… I'll beat it out of you." Johnny shot him an angry glare, but Brett went onward before it could escalate. "Now when she learned that my toxicology report was negative and my conductor's result was positive, she didn't believe that mine could truly be negative. And she launched a vicious public campaign against me, claiming that the test results were flawed or that I had to have paid somebody off to falsify them, all of which were utterly ludicrous and there is no possible way she could've proven any of her wild allegations."

"How do you know?" Liu asked.

Brett stared at him with a look of disbelief. Was Liu crazy or just stupid? "Things been moving a little fast for you there Liu? It's because the test wasn't faulty, nor did I pay anyone to falsify anything. The specimen was taken from me while I was in the ambulance en route to the hospital and when it arrived, there was one guy from the NTSB and three guys from the FBI there waiting for it. They grabbed the medical technician and the sample and were gone to wherever they tested the sample before my stretcher had even gotten through the emergency room doors. I wasn't on anything and I couldn't have paid off anyone because to this day, I don't know which lab conducted the test. And I shouldn't know which lab did the test because that helps keep the integrity of the results."

He took a moment to settle down and briefly explain what the NTSB and FBI were. "The point is, despite not having any evidence to prove her outrageous claims, Graves managed to convince the court of public opinion that she was right. She managed to convince them that I had acted at least negligently, if not criminally, and should be held solely responsible for the accident. Never mind the fact that the bus driver was drunk off his ass at the time of the accident. In her twisted world, he was an innocent victim too. I was to be the one held responsible."

That shocked a lot of them. "What?!" Jade exclaimed loudly.

"Are you kidding?" Kitana echoed her friend's statement. "From what you've told us, the bus driver was completely responsible for the accident."

"I wish I was kidding Kitana," Brett replied. "But I'm not. Even though the NTSB came to the same conclusion, that the bus driver and his state of inebriation was the chief cause of the accident, that wasn't enough for a lot of people. I can't tell you how many people walk around under the delusion that it's always the train engineer's fault whenever his train kills someone. These are the same people who have their heads so far up their ass, they can't understand basic physics. The average weight of the Silver Streak is two million pounds. That weight traveling at over a hundred miles an hour… you can't stop it quickly and it will obliterate anything that gets in its way. It's chiefly why I've always maintained that in an accident like that the train's engineer is always the forgotten victim. Because all too often he survives and has to live with the knowledge and guilt that's he's killed people and couldn't do a damn thing about it.

"Where I come from, anyone who drives any kind of train for more than four years is guaranteed to be in at least one fatal accident," he continued. "That can be anything from running over someone who trespassing on a railroad bridge, the occupants of a car smashed into hamburger because the driver was more focused on his cell phone than my approach or the teenage kid who had his head phones stuck in his ears and the music blaring so loud he couldn't hear anything else… including the locomotive horn that was being blasted practically in his face."

He sighed heavily. "The Hawthorne Road accident was my last fatal accident, but it was not my first. I'd killed fifteen people over the course of my railroad career up to that point. And to this day, I grieve for every one of them. I did everything I could to prevent those accidents and save those lives. Yet my past record was just one part of the bill of goods that Natalie Graves sold to the American public," he soldiered onward. "She got the public to believe the I was a negligent and dangerous engineer. That the public wasn't safe riding in any train driven by me. That I should've been able to stop the train as soon as I saw a problem developing. That I hadn't acted fast enough to bring the train to a stop and prevent the accident. And as a result, the public labeled me a murderer, a butcher, a baby-killer and any other abhorrent term you can think of." He snorted. "At the very least, Graves's ignorance is breathtaking. At the worst, it's horrifying. You know the investigation proved that even if I'd slammed on the brakes ten seconds before I did, I still would've hit the bus. Didn't matter to the court of public opinion though."

The was a silent moment of reflection and wonder as many of them tried to imagine what must've been going through Brett's mind in the seconds before the impact. Then Nightwolf addressed the other obvious elephant in the room. "What about your wife? I notice you don't wear a wedding band. I can only assume you and her went your separate ways."

Brett laughed. "That's an understatement. From practically the moment that the accident happened, I had the press all over me, asking me every stupid ass question you can think of. It ranged from the basic such as 'were you drinking' to the utterly absurd like 'was there a hooker in the engine cab giving you a blowjob just before the accident'?"

The look he got from most of them in response told him they thought such a question was unbelievable too. "What the…" Skarlet began.

"It's true," Brett said. "Some dimwit reporter for an off-the-wall tabloid apparently got into his steel lined skull that the whole reason the accident happened was because I was suffering from some bizarre sexual dysfunction in the seconds before it happened." He couldn't help but laugh. "It's almost funny now, but it wasn't at the time.

"Anyway, because of all this press induced nonsense, I had to spend a great deal of time consulting my lawyers and defending myself against the outrageous questions and claims," he said. "My lawyers eventually put me on a gag order, so I wasn't allowed to talk to the press. My wife had a little more freedom when it came to the press, but she was still very limited as to what she could say. And she frequently made appearances before the press on what was supposedly my behalf. What I didn't see though was that as time went on, she became less interested in defending me and more interested in all the bright lights around her and cameras in her face. She saw her ticket to fame and fortune and she took it… at my expense."

"What do you mean?" Jade wondered.

He pointed to Skarlet. "I guess she heard my rant earlier just before I… attempted what I did. So she already has some idea. One day, Annette just simply packed her stuff and walked out of the house, never to return. A day later, she went to the press with a 'poor me' story of how during our entire thirteen years of marriage, I'd been violent, abusive and controlling."

He snorted angrily. "It was a bunch of bullshit and she knows it. She went out with her girlfriends at least once every other week, sometimes more. She always had the freedom to do so and I rarely questioned where she went during these 'girl's nights.' She usually told me where she was going and even if I did occasionally ask where she'd been, it was always in general conversation, not arguing. I never once hit her, never once raised my hand against her. I never even called her foul names like 'whore', 'bitch', 'slut' or anything else. She was my wife and I respected her as such. I thought she respected me too."

A low pitched sound resembling a growl of sorts came from Skarlet. "I'd really like to… talk to your ex-wife someday," she said.

"Me too," Jade concurred.

"Count me in," Kitana added.

"I'd like to hog tie her to a charging bull," Sonya said.

"Why don't I chill her out with my ice blast," Sub Zero suggested.

"Even I'd like to have a little chat with this bitch," Li Mei concluded.

Brett looked up at her in surprise.

Li Mei shrugged. "Hey you might not call her names like that and that's fine. Even admirable. But I'm not bound by those rules."

A year ago, he might've said otherwise. Now however, he didn't care if someone else called her that or anything else for that matter. "It took Natalie Graves all of one day to jump all over my ex's accusations and provide them to the American public as further evidence of how rotten a person I supposedly was. Annette filed for divorce and a couple weeks before the NTSB's final hearing into the accident, the divorce was finalized. I tried to fight it as best I could. But with the public already against me regarding the accident, bolstered by Graves's outrageous lies, the outcome was pretty much decided before the case even went before the judge.

That judge gave her just about everything… our house, the furniture, the cars we owned, our bank accounts, you name it. It all went to her. The only things she didn't get were a few musical instruments, some weapons, a rather extensive model train collection I have and the clothes on my back. Apparently the insurance policies I have on those items and the fact that I was the only beneficiary listed was what prevented them from falling victim to my lying, greedy ex."

"Where are they now?" Skarlet asked him.

"My uncle's house," Brett said. "Ah, that would be my father's younger brother, John. Not Uncle Yama. After the accident and subsequent vilification of me by the press, my ex and dear old Natalie, my so-called friends all disappeared as did most of my family. The first morning I was here, I told most of you at breakfast that I hadn't spoken to my younger sister in several years. That's true but what I didn't tell you was that I haven't spoken to any of my other siblings in eight or nine months either."

"Why?" Skarlet wondered.

Brett shrugged. "Guilt by association I guess. Where I come from, when someone you know or are close to is being torn apart in the court of public opinion, the 'politically correct' thing to do is distance yourself from that person." He spoke the words "politically correct" with more than a hint of sarcasm. "In other words, cover your own ass so that you don't get maligned merely by associating with someone who's having their life turned inside out. Run away and hide instead of fighting alongside that person."

"That's revolting," Jade exclaimed.

"Well, maybe not always," Brett admitted. "In my case it certainly was. After everything was settled and the NTSB's final report was issued, I decided to take a break and spend some time at my Uncle John's house. The house is out in the middle of nowhere, Montana. I rode the train out as far as I could which was followed by a lonely, fourteen hour hike though the Montana back country to get there. I'd planned on just laying low there for a few months while I got my life sorted out. But not two hours after I got there, I decided to take a nap on the sofa. Only when I flopped down on the sofa to rest, I didn't land on it. Instead, I fell straight through it into what seemed like a blackened abyss." He pointed at Kitana and Jade. "Next thing I knew, I was in your palace infirmary and you two were hovering over me." He shrugged. "You all know the rest of the story from there."

With Brett's tale concluded, many of the others sat in stunned silence. A few of them looked at one another, as if they were hoping someone would break the eerie quietness that had fallen over the room. But what did they say to him? After enduring so much pain and heartache, what sort of comfort could they give him? They were at a loss.

Skarlet broke the silence by asking a question. "You also mentioned another person," she said. "Someone named Kevin, I guess. What about him?"

Brett snorted. "That's a whole other story," he said. Shaking his head, he added. "And one that I am still not willing to discuss. Not yet anyway." He shot an angry glance at Jax, Johnny and Stryker. "Not until old scores start to get settled."

The angry stare he cast in the trio's direction was returned to him.

It did not go unnoticed by many, especially Sonya Blade and she made glances at both groups. What the hell had happened between them? Whatever it was, Brett had already punched up Johnny Cage a bit for it. And she resolved to get to the bottom of it before whatever issues between them that boiled just under the surface, erupted into all-out war.

Had she known the true circumstances of the rage carried by the four men at that time, she might not have made that resolution.

Jade also glanced at the trio. "Well whatever your issues are with them, know this… I told you that I was your friend. I wasn't just spewing words out of my mouth when I told you that. And I hope that if you again reach a point where you truly feel like taking your own life is the answer," she placed her hand on Brett's leg. "I hope you'll seek one or more of us out first and talk with us about it. There's already been one tragedy here. We don't want to go through another."

"Right," Kitana agreed. "Especially when it would be so unnecessary. I can't speak for everyone else here, but I personally would be very upset if you were suddenly gone. That might be kind of loaded for me to say because you haven't been with us for very long. I just… have a feeling about you. That you've only begun to make your impact among us."

"I'd be devastated if you were suddenly gone," Jade went a step further. "And I agree with Kitana about you just taking your first steps with us."

Liu Kang looked at both women with considerable disfavor. What was this? Did Kitana and Jade actually believe that a man so dishonorable in his mind, could actually make a positive difference in what was happening? He'd have to speak with them later about this. The Forces of Light was no place for a man of Brett's… talents.

Nightwolf was next to speak. "Brett, you are an honored member of the Forces of Light now. Lord Raiden would not have chosen you to be among us if all you were destined to do was end your own life in a momentary fit of misery. We look out for each other and we stand by one another in times of great crisis."

Brett wondered just how true that was considering what he knew about Jax, Johnny and Stryker. He also knew that Liu would've preferred that he wasn't around if only because of his past as a sniper. But there seemed to be something else there as well. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it was there. As for the others, they didn't seem to have any issues with him or his past.

Whatever his feelings were about those who surrounded him, Skarlet pushed them aside for him when she once again embraced him tightly. She gently rubbed his back and pressed her body as firmly against his as she could. As she rested her chin on his shoulder and leaned her head against his, Skarlet closed her eyes. And for the first time in her life, she felt truly calm. At peace. Like everything in her life was right and as it should be for once.

Brett was as confused as ever, but returned her gesture. What was going on here? The last time he and Skarlet had seen each other, they'd been trying to kill one another. Now they were practically cheek to cheek. But then, had they really been trying to kill one another? Skarlet had him dead to rights as they'd come out of that fountain together. Yet she still halted her death blow and instant before it would've connected. And Brett hadn't been able to kill her when she was vulnerable before him.

Now here she was acting as if her very life depended on him in some way. Maybe it did. For the moment though, he was just enjoying the feel of her warm skin and soft hair against him. It felt more soothing and relaxing than anything had in quite a long time. He almost didn't want to let it go.

Soon however, the embrace broke and they looked at one another, not really sure what to say. Eventually though, the awkwardness between them became a little uncomfortable. Unsure of what else to do, Brett asked, "So what's your story? Last time we met, we tried to kill each other."

The revelation surprised the others. "Wait," Jade said. "You two know each other? How?"

"We met at Bexbran," Brett said. "More accurately, we fought at Bexbran."

Another stunning revelation which Kitana echoed as she turned to Skarlet. "I never saw you at Bexbran."

"None of us did," Liu Kang challenged.

"You weren't supposed to see me," Skarlet pointed out. "Not even Mileena's raiding team was supposed to see me. I'm Shao Kahn's chief enforcer and assassin, remember? I was supposed to merely observe and take out who I could without being spotted by either group." She gestured toward Brett. "When you were separated from the others, I decided you were a good target. I saw you take out that Tarkatan in the hotel courtyard. And later I witnessed you defeat Mileena herself in the stable. That's when I decided to challenge you."

Jade's eyes narrowed. She didn't trust Shao Kahn's blood warrior one bit. "What happened next?"

Skarlet knew Jade didn't trust her and it was understandable. Here she was, Shao Kahn's personal assassin more or less defecting to the other side. Who would trust her? She wanted to earn their trust, but for the moment, Brett's trust and support was all that mattered to her. "A lot," she said. Looking around, she saw that everyone was staring at her expectantly. She looked at Brett and said. "Forgive me, but at the very least I know these people are viewing me with a great deal of skepticism and suspicion. And I'm a bit uncomfortable as it is. Is there someplace we can talk in private?"

Jade objected to that. "Hold on a second," she barked. "You somehow steal your way in here, make us think you're attacking an honored member of the Forces of Light and then you want to speak to him in private? I don't think so."

Sindel however, overruled her. "Now wait a minute," she counseled. "She saved Brett's life whether he initially wanted her to or not. And she's done nothing but be respectful towards him and us ever since." She looked at Skarlet. "That said I do understand Jade's apprehension. As you said, you are after all, Shao Kahn's chief enforcer and assassin. So… with Brett's agreement… you may use the Royal Garden to have your conversation. That will give you privacy, but allow us to observe you from a distance."

Skarlet looked at Brett expectantly.

"Considering everything you've done for me in recent days, the least I can do is grant your request for a private audience," he replied. "And I confess I have some questions for you. We can speak in the garden as Queen Sindel suggested."

Skarlet smiled. "Thank you."

As they got up and prepared to head outdoors, Jade grabbed her arm. "I'll be watching you Skarlet. Betray him or us and I promise you, your death will be swift."

"I can appreciate your concern Jade," Skarlet said quietly. "But I swear that you have nothing to fear from me." She turned to Sindel. "Your Majesty, we can discuss this at length later. For now though, I wish to state my intent to defect from Shao Kahn's forces and join the Edenians and Earthrealmers in their fight against him."

Sindel nodded, actually not at all surprised in Skarlet's declaration. She nodded. "Mm, well as you said, we can discuss it at length later. For now, just have your privacy with Brett."

"Thank you Your Majesty."

 _Elsewhere in the Royal Palace_

After the discussion in the Royal Lounge had broken up and people had start to go about their semi-normal routines, Jax, Johnny and Stryker had retired to a private room elsewhere in the palace. Now Jax sat at a desk of sorts while Stryker leaned back first against a wall near a window. In the more or less center of the room, Johnny paced back and forth like a caged tiger.

Stryker rolled his eyes. "Johnny, if you keep pacing like that you'll wear a hole in the floor."

It was a comment meant to get Johnny's attention more than anything and it failed miserably. "Ooooh, his Rembrandt taunts burn me up," Johnny complained. He growled in anger. "I'd like to kick the shit out of him, bust up his face and turn him into a damn Rembrandt! It would be a picture I'd admire for the rest of my life!"

Stryker uttered a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah… good luck with that one Johnny. You did so great against him last time you fought him that Raiden personally delivered you to Jax in a garbage can."

Johnny stopped and whirled to face Stryker. "You effing cop. I ought to…"

"Enough, both of you!" Jax shouted angrily. He had to get control of this situation quick. "This is exactly what he wants… us turning on each other."

Johnny took a deep breath and relaxed. He shuffled to a nearby chair and flopped down in it, massaging his temples as he did. "You're right," he said in a more civilized tone. "I'm sorry Stryker. I didn't mean to get so riled up."

Stryker waved it off. Tensions were running a bit high at the moment and Jax did have a point. Turning on each other was the last thing they needed to do now.

"I thought we'd seen the last of him at the Battle of Wanat," Johnny grumbled.

"Join the club," Jax said. "We all thought that. Yet here we are and we have to deal with the situation."

Stryker laughed unhappily. "It's funny how the Elder Gods seem to bring back together, parties that would rather not see each other ever again."

"I'm not going to speculate on the whims of the Elder Gods," Jax said. "What I will question is what in the hell Raiden was thinking when he brought Brett Hudson of all people to Edenia."

"Oh really," Johnny said. "We all know why Hudson is furious with us. We all know what happened on the night of July 13th, 2008. You think Raiden's oblivious to that?"

"Shut up," Jax ordered. "No one here is going to talk about that night! Got it!" He pointed to Johnny. "Not you…" then to Stryker, "… not you and certainly not me." He finished by pointing to himself. "Hudson's not going to talk about it either."

Stryker was astounded by Jax's apparent lack of concern for the situation they were in. "Are you so sure about that Jax?" he asked. "He's already made hints that he's going to settle the score with us and here on Edenia we don't have the luxury of your father to protect us."

"We might not even have that luxury on Earth anymore either," Johnny pointed out.

They were talking about Jax's father, Michael Briggs. Now retired, during the Battle of Wanat he'd been a four star general and the United States SOCOM commander. What sort of assistance and protection he'd given to his son, Johnny and Stryker in the wake of the Battle of Wanat was known only to the four of them… and they weren't speaking about it.

Jax pursed his lips as he suspected they might be right in their assessment of his father's abilities to protect them now. He was certain that Brett wanted to have it out with them before talking about what had happened that night. He'd all but said so in the Royal Lounge a short while ago. But if he was wrong or if Brett was bluffing…

He didn't want to take the chance. Something had to be done to get Brett out of their hair once and for all. But simply blowing his head off wasn't going to solve anything. In fact with as much support as he currently had with Queen Sindel, Princess Kitana and Jade, it might actually make their problems worse. And if they killed him and tried to make it look like he'd attempted suicide again and succeeded, they might fool a few a few of the people, but certainly not all of them… especially Raiden himself.

 _You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time. But you can't fool all the people, all the time._ Jax recalled that from somewhere, but he couldn't remember who'd said it. Lincoln? Jefferson? Washington? He couldn't remember.

Who said it didn't matter to Jax. What did matter was the meaning behind the passage. Killing Brett in any way, shape or form and then trying to pass it off as a successful suicide was a bad idea and wouldn't fool anyone. They had to discredit him somehow. "I don't know," he finally said. "I still think he'll seek retribution against us before doing anything else regarding the events of that night. But even so, I don't want to take the chance. We need to get rid of him. He's already tried to kill himself once and I think we can use that against him."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Johnny wondered.

"Well we can't kill him and make look like a second suicide attempt was successful," Jax stated. "That won't fool anyone. Therefore, we need to convince Queen Sindel that Raiden made a huge and potentially dangerous mistake by bringing Brett Hudson here to Edenia," Jax said. "We need to convince her that he's unstable and not at all suited to being a member of the Forces of Light. I don't know how we do that yet, though." He leaned back in his chair. "And for the moment, it doesn't matter. We all have responsibilities on Earth we must attend to. That'll give me a chance to think this whole thing through. In the meantime, you two go about your daily routines as you normally would. When the time comes, we'll get rid of this problem with one swift stroke."

"All right," Johnny relented. "But might I ask you not to take too long in your decision making and plan enacting? I spend more time here on Edenia than you two and I'm not sure how much more of his taunting I can take."

"Then I would advise you Johnny, to remember the principle of Jeet Kune Do and 'Be Like Water'," Jax suggested. "Be fluid and adapt to any situation."

Johnny cast a hard glare at his former CO. Maybe after this was over with Brett Hudson, he'd challenge Jax to a one on one match. He'd rather enjoy that. With a slight sneer, he said, "Fine." The false sincerity was all too apparent ion his voice however.

"Good," Jax said. "We shouldn't speak of this anymore within the palace walls. For now just go about your normal activities, respond to an Outworld threat if called to do so and Johnny… stay calm."

With that, the semi-clandestine meeting broke up and the three of them went about their separate ways. As soon as they'd left the room, Raiden appeared in it. Folding his arms over his chest, he quietly said, "Oh I knew what I was doing when brought Hudson here. Apparently the same cannot be said for when I brought the three of you here. So plot away you supercilious twits. Plot to your little hearts' content. Events have already been set in motion that will ensure your failure." He looked up in the general direction of the sky. "Elder Gods, all I ask is that you do not let this linger for too long. It may very well prove a dangerous and unnecessary distraction."

Raiden wasn't the only one who'd observed what was going on. As the three men dispersed, Sonya Blade took a step out from around a nearby corner and eyed them with utter contempt. Pursuant to her plan to find out what was going on between Hudson and the others, she'd eavesdropped on the meeting and heard every word. As they disappeared from her field of vision, only one question kept running through her mind.

 _What the hell happened during the Battle of Wanat?_

 **Author's Note: Of the two locomotives and eight coaches used in the actual Silver Streak movie, only the two engines and the diner are no longer in service. Engine #4070 still survives but is inoperable somewhere near Montreal. Engine #4067 was scrapped in the early 1980s. Diner** _ **Wascana**_ **was wrecked on April 12** **th** **, 2001 when a teenager tampered with a track switch and caused VIA's** _ **Ocean**_ **to derail in Stewiacke, Nova Scotia. No one was killed but 22 were injured. The other seven coaches are still in daily service on VIA, usually the** _ **Canadian**_ **.**


End file.
